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THE 



PUBLIC MEN 



THE REVOLUTION. 



INCLUDING EVENTS FROM THE 



PEACE OF 1783 TO THE PEACE OF 1815. 
IN A SERIES OF LETTERS. 

BY THE LATE 

HON. WM. SULLIVAN, LL.D. 

WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR, AND ADDITIONAL NOTES AND. 
REFERENCES BY HIS SON, 

JOHN T. S. SULLIVAN. 



"There have been in the world but two systems or schools of policy; the one founded 
on the great principles of wisdom and rectitude : the other, on cunning- and its various 
artifices."— John Jay. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY CAREY AND HART 

1847. 



.5 



Entered according to the act of Congress in the year 1S34 

by William Sullivan, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts 



PHILADELPHIA : 
T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS. 



' 



2 3 3 



21 

DEDICATION. 



TO YOU, 

MY DEAR MOTHER, 

THIS EDITION OF THESE LETTERS IS DEDICATED, 

As an earnest of a son's gratitude for a parent's untiring devotion 
and affection, and as a token of the esteem he cherishes for the 
virtues and Christian fortitude you have ever exhibited, through 
years of mingled joy and affliction. These letters, from the pen 
of one whom you so faithfully "served, loved, honored and kept" 
through a life devoted to laudable ambition and the conscientious 
performance of his duties, refer to events, many of which must 
be within the scope of your memory. If, in the additions I have 
ventured to annex, yet not without misgivings as to my ability to 
enhance the value of the work, some pleasing remembrances 
should be revived to you, I shall be more than repaid for the 
labor they may have cost 

YOUR SON, 

The Editor. 
Philadelphia, June 1, 1847. 



P E E F A C E 



THE EDITOR 



Not until the exasperated feeling of opposing political parties 
has been assuaged by time, and new divisions have arisen, can 
the leading measures and the prominent men of those parties be 
judged of without bias. The time has arrived, it is believed, 
when we may scan impartially the events of the period embraced 
in these letters. The measures adopted by the conflicting admi- 
nistrations of those years, have been fully tested. The effect of 
such as have survived the changes of party revolutions, is now- 
felt and known, and exercises a prominent influence upon our 
political and social condition; whilst other measures, and the 
wise and good men who upheld them, are condemned as federal, 
by persons who are ignorant of the origin, design and character 
of Federalists. It is due to the worthy patriots and disinterested 
statesmen who composed that party, that their motives should be 
known, and the principles they advocated understood. It was to 
this end that the author wrote these letters ; it is to this end that 
they are now republished to the world by his son, 

THE EDITOR. 

Philadelphia, June 1, 1847. 



2* 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

INTRODUCTION. 13 

AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 15 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE LATE WILLIAM SULLIVAN. 25 

LETTER I. 

State of the country in 1783 — Massachusetts — embarrassments. - 37 

LETTER II. 

Massachusetts insurrection — Governor Bowdoin. - ■ - 40 

LETTER III. 

Massachusetts rebellion. - - - - - 43 

LETTER IV. 

Governor Hancock — state of society. - - - - - 46 

LETTER V. 

Governor Hancock — Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln — Washington's visit. 49 

LETTER VI. 

Old confederation — Federal constitution — Massachusetts convention — 
Federalist, by Jay, Madison, and Hamilton. - - • - 53 

LETTER VII. 

Massachusetts convention — Fisher Ames — Rums King — Charles Jarvis. 56 

LETTER VIII. 

Adoption of the constitution — origin of parties — first Congress. - - 61 

LETTER IX. 

Hancock's death — Rev. Dr. Cooper — state of society — Brissot — education. 65 

LETTER X. 

Beginning of the National Government — President Washington — Vice- 
President Adams — first Congress. - - - - - 69 

LETTER XI. 

First cabinet — public debt funded — Bank — Jefferson — Hamilton. - 73 



8 CONTENTS. 

LETTER XII. p^ 

Excise law — French revolution— civic feast — Resolutions against Hamil- 
ton — Mr. Giles' remarks on Washington. - - - - 76 

LETTER XIII. 
French revolution — parties — Genet — Jacobin clubs — Mifflin — Dallas — 
English captures. - - - - - - - 80 

LETTER XIV. 
Congress in 1793 — Jefferson's commercial report — Marshall's character 
of Jefferson— parties in Congress — distinguished members — renewed 
attack on Hamilton. - - - - - - - 85 

LETTER XV. 
Mission to England — John Jay — Fauchet — rebellion in Pennsylvania — 
Talleyrand — Knox and Hamilton resign. - - - - 90 

LETTER XVI. 
Jay's treaty — Washington's letter to the Selectmen of Boston. - - 94 

LETTER XVII. 
Fauchet's intercepted dispatches — Edmund Randolph — Pinckney. - 97 

LETTER XVIII. 
Adet, French minister — Washington's reply to Adet — Jay's treaty — pop- 
ular movements on this treaty — debate in Congress — Monroe — Fiance. 1 02 

LETTER XIX. 
Washington — Lafayette — Bollman— Lord Lyndhurst — third election of 
President— Pain e's letter to Washington — Jefferson's letter to Paine — 
charges against Washington. - - - - - - 107 

LETTER XX. 

Adet's address to Americans— French influence — Washington's letter to 
Jefferson. - - - - - - . - 1 1 1 

LETTER XXI. 
Washington's last speech to Congress — farewell address — Jefferson's 
remarks and Jay's letter on the address— Washington's personal ap- 
pearance and deportment — reception of visitors. - - - 115 

LKTTER XXII. 
Washington's administration — its difficulties — Colonel Isaac Hayne — 
funding public debt— national bank— policy of Washington. - - 121 

LETTER XXIII. 
Kssex Junto — General Benjamin Lincoln. - - - - 127 

LETTER XXIV. 
General Henry Knox— Jefferson's opinions of Knox — Jefferson's writings. 130 



CONTENTS. 9 

LETTER XXV. Pa&e 

Duke of Kent — present King of France — Sir A. Baring — foreign minis- 
ters — distinguished members of Congress — Philadelphia in 1797 — Ro- 
bert Morris. - - - - - - - -136 

LETTER XXVI. 

Samuel Adams — Increase Sumner — Francis Dana — Theodore Sedg- 
wick — state of society. - - - - - -142 

LETTER XXVII. 
Election of John Adams — of Jefferson, Vice-President — mission to 
France. ........ 145 

LETTER XXVIII. 
Treatment of envoys in France — X Y Z affair — war with France — new 
missions to France — measures taken to impair Mr. Adams' popularity 
— affair of Jonathan Robbins. - - - - - -149 

LETTER XXIX. 
Alien law — sedition law — combination of foreigners — Callender's " Pros- 
pect Before Us" — Jefferson and Callender — Logan's mission. - 156 

LETTER XXX. 

New judiciary law, February, 1801 — pardon of Fries — end of the fede- 
ral administration — character. - - - - - - 164 

LETTER XXXI. 
Death of Washington. - - - - - - - 168 

LETTER XXXII. 

Jefferson's Mazzei letter — speech as Vice-President — Jefferson's remarks 
on die Mazzei letter — Jefferson's personal appearance — his vice-presi- 
dency. . - - - - - - -171 

LETTER XXXIII. 

Mr. Jefferson — principles of action — elements of parties — reasons why 
Mr. Jefferson's "Writings" should be noticed. - - - 178 

LETTER XXXIV. 
Mr. Jefferson's Writings. - - - - - - 184 

LETTER XXXV. 
Mr. Jefferson's attack on the funding system and the bank, as federal 
measures. --_..... 193 

LETTER XXXVI. 

Mr. Jefferson's charge against federalists, as intending to introduce mo- 
narchy. - - - - - - - - 196 



10 CONTENTS. 

LETTER XXXVII. Page 

Mr. Jefferson's election to the presidency — his remarks on James A. 
Bayard — vindication by Mr. Bayard's sons — Mr. Jefferson's policy. - 201 

LETTER XXXVIII. 
Contradictory opinions entertained concerning Mr. Jefferson when elect- 
ed to the presidency. ------- 208 

LETTER XXXIX. 

Inaugural speech — answer to New Haven remonstrance — invitation to 
apostacy — author of party government. - - - -212 

LETTER XL. 
Mr. Jefferson's opinion of the judiciary. .... 218 

LETTER XLI. 

Mr. Jefferson proposes to Congress to repeal all federal measures — ju- 
diciary law — acts of Judge Chase, which led to his impeachment. - 221 

LETTER XLII. 
Impeachment and trial of Judge Chase. .... 227 

LETTER XLII1. 
Purchase of Louisiana. ------- 230 

LETTER XLIV. 
Mr. Jefferson's proposal to repeal the alien law — his former opinions on 
aliens. -------- 235 

LETTER XLV. 

Mr. Jefferson's hostility to the navy — his gun-boat system. - -238 

LETTER XLVI. 

Difficulties on purchase of Louisiana — Miranda's expedition from New 
York to South America — Burr's conspiracy. - 240 

LETTER XLVII. 
Burr's arrest and trial for treason. ..... 246 

LETTER XLVIII. 
Burr's trial— Mr. Wirt. - - - - - - - 249 

LETTER XLIX. 
Alexander Hamilton — duel with Burr. ..... 260 

LETTER L. 
Mr. Jefferson's gift of two millions to Napoleon — John Randolph's pam- 
phlet on this subject. - - - - - - - 271 



CONTENTS. 11 

LETTER LI. Page 

Jefferson and England — rejects treaty of 1806— embargo of 1807 — state 
of the country. ..-.--- 279 

LETTER LII. 

Governor Strong — Governor Sullivan — Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln — 
proceedings of Massachusetts Legislature. .... 287 

LETTER LIII. 
Governor Gore — members of Massachusetts Legislature — merchants — 
Governor Gerry — Governor Strong. ..... 296 

LETTER LIV. 

Mr. Jefferson's retirement — his various accounts of embargo system. ■ 304 

LETTER LV. 
Mr. Jefferson's account of himself— examination of his account — author 
of nullification. ....... 308 

LETTER LVI. 

Examination of his policy — effects of his policy. - - : 313 

LETTER LVII. 
How Mr. Jefferson found the United States in 1801 — how he left it in 
1809 — Mr. Madison — his policy — continuation of Mr. Jefferson's. - 316 

LETTER LVIII. 
Causes of war in 1812. - - - - - -321 

LETTER LIX. 

The Henry plot— Mr. Madison's motives. - - - - 329 

LETTER LX. 
War message, and measures in Congress. .... 334 

LETTER LXI. 

Opposition to the war in Congress — state of Europe. - - - 336 

LETTER LXII. 

Coincidence of Napoleon's war against Russia and American war against 
England — reception of the war in New England. ... 340 

LETTER LXIII. 
Terror that came with the war — Baltimore — Washington Benevolent 
Societies. ........ 345 

LETTER LXIV. 
Convention at New York— De Witt Clinton. - - - - 349 



12 CONTENTS. 

LETTER LXV. Page 

Progress of the war — proposed conscription and impressment. - -351 

LETTER LXVI. 

Proceedings of Massachusetts — causes of the Hartford Convention. - 356 

LETTER LXVIl. 
Effects of the Hartford Convention. - - - - - 361 

LETTER LXVIII. 
Measures in consequence of the Hartford Convention — conclusion of the 
war — peace message. --.... 363 

LETTER LXIX. 

Mr. Madison's probable motives— close of his administration — Mr. Mon- 
roe's presidency. ----... 372 

LETTER LXX. 
Motives and conduct of the Federalists. .... 374 

LETTER LXXI. 
Strong — Brooks — Gore — Cabot. ------ 380 

LETTER LXXII. 

Pickering — Lowell, senior — Higginson— Hichborn. - - - 386 

LETTER LXXIII. 
Parsons — Sewall — Parker — Dexter. - 393 

LETTER LXXIV. 
Otis — Lowell, Jr. — Quincy — Ward — Lloyd. - 404 

LETTER LXXV. 
Conclusion — difficulties — remedies. - 409 

APPENDIX. 

1. John Jay's letter on Washington's Farewell Address. - - 421 

2. Evidence collected by the sons of James A. Bayard, on Jefferson's 
calumnies. ------.. 428 

3. Extract from Walsh's letter on the genius and character of the French 
revolutionary government, and on French military conscription. - 451 



INTRODUCTION 



BY 



THE AUTHOR 



Towards the close of his life, Mr. Jefferson prepared state- 
ments, seriously affecting the motives and conduct of a numerous 
class of his fellow-citizens. He intended to have these statements 
•published after his decease. He seems to have expected, that they 
would be received as historical truths, proceeding from high 
authority. 

If Mr. Jefferson had stated truths only, all who know the value 
of sound historical information are under great obligations to him. 
If he has stated "false facts " (as he calls them,) without intend- 
ing to do so, he has increased the well-known difficulty of arriving 
at certainty, as to the past ; and his labors are worse than useless. 
If he has stated what he knew to be false, he has abused public 
confidence, and has dishonored his own fame. 

As most of those citizens, of whom he speaks reproachfully, 
have become, like himself, insensible to earthly commendation or 
censure, is it too soon to inquire, in which of the above-mentioned 
relations Mr. Jefferson should be viewed? 

It would be doing, it is hoped, great injustice to the American 
public to assume, that they are incompetent, or unwilling, to 
judge calmly and justly of historical truth, whatsoever it may 
prove to be, or whencesoever it may come. 
2 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

But, if the men of this day are so near to that time in which 
Mr. Jefferson was a conspicuous political agent, that prejudices 
must prevent a calm and righteous judgment, then the same pos- 
terity, to which Mr. Jefferson confidently appeals, must judge of 
him, and of those whom he has attempted to consign to their re- 
proach and contempt. 

According to the words of an able writer, "the views and prin- 
ciples" of Mr. Jefferson's political adversaries are to be known 
by "a comparison of a series of their discourses and actions." 
Mr. Jefferson is to be known, not " from his speeches and actions," 
but "from the whole tenor of his language and conduct." 

These "views and principles," and this "language and con- 
duct," are set forth in the following pages, "for a reasonable 
length of time;" that is, throughout one-third of a century. 

The form adopted is, familiar letters, as these are better suited 
to the purpose than the ordinary form of History; and because 
these admit of personal descriptions and particular illustrations, 
which the "Memoirs and Writings of Thomas Jefferson" make 
indispensable. 

Boston, April 20, 1834. 



PREFACE 



THE AUTHOR. 



Some cautious, sensitive persons disapprove of all inquiry into 
Mr. Jefferson- 's claims to gratitude and admiration. They ac- 
knowledge such sentiments to be due to men who, from good 
motives, achieved illustrious deeds ; and who forgot self, in devo- 
tion to the public. These persons are not supposed to maintain, 
that men who misunderstood or who perverted their trust, are to 
be ranked with men of the first class. But they suggest that, if 
inquiry be made into Mr. Jefferson's pretensions, the people may 
take it ill, and that there must always be danger in startling an- 
cient and deep-rooted prejudices. 

The fear of startling prejudices may be a cogent reason for 
persisting in the divinity of oracular responses; for continuing in 
the faith, that birds were commissioned to foretell the fate of ar- 
mies ; and for persevering in search after the will of the gods, 
among the entrails of a bullock. But, in these days, reason and 
common sense are supposed to have some ministry in the human 
mind. One may venture to pay the tribute to the American peo- 
ple of believing, that they can arrive at and value truth; and that 
having the right and the duty of ordering their own welfare, they 
can and will justly estimate the means of accomplishing that 
purpose. We have no design to shock any one's prejudices. 



16 PREFACE. 

We are not dealing with Mr. Jefferson as an individual. We 
"war not with the dust." With Mr. Jefferson's principles and 
example, as an expounder of the constitution, every free American 
is deeply concerned; and, if Mr. Jefferson has been unjust to 
public benefactors, every American is interested that his errors 
should be made known. 

If the maintenance of constitutional liberty be the object, there 
may be those who think any effort of this nature profitless and 
vain. They may be of opinion, that the sovereign people will 
not believe constitutional government to be a restraining power, 
intended to prevent the wrongs which they can do to each other, 
and authorized to protect itself against their own illegal assaults. 
The people will not be convinced, it is said, that their peace, 
prosperity and freedom depend on the strict observance of laws. 
They cannot know when they are well or ill governed ; and rather 
prefer, if they could know, the ruling of cunning and deceitful 
flatterers to that of wise and honest men. We are reminded of 
the rebellions and of the near approach to despotism, within the 
last fifty years ; and how all combinations of citizens, however 
originating, resolve themselves into political parties, and seek 
power by perverting the right of suffrage. We are reminded, 
also, of the gradual decline in the character of public authority, 
and of the striking contrast between the personal worth and dig- 
nity of some who, have ruled, and of some who do rule. Then 
the future is looked to, with fearful apprehension, and it is asked, 
whether, as numbers increase, and the American people are far- 
ther and farther removed from the influences of the revolution, 
there can be any reasonable hope of preserving civil liberty? 

To all such suggestions it may be answered, that any govern- 
ment, except mere despotism, implies difficulties and contentions; 
and the freer it is, the more will these abound. Yet our govern- 
ment can be kept within constitutional rules, or soon brought 
again within their limits, when it has transgressed them. But 
this supposes watchfulness and intelligence, and a keen sensibility 
to encroachment. Such qualities our citizens have shown, to an 



PREFACE. 17 

extent sufficient to preserve civil liberty so far; and it ought not 
to be doubted, that they will continue to do so. The real charac- 
ter of the government, however, has not always been republican ; 
it has sometimes been republicanism fashioned by democratic 
despotism. Our rulers will generally arise from a certain sort of 
numerical power. The art is w r ell understood of making domin- 
ion out of the fears, prejudices, and pride of that power. There 
will always be the sympathy of identity between that power and 
the rulers which it selects ; and these rulers will be worshipped, 
because worship is self-gratulation. This is the true secret of the 
homage rendered to Napoleon, to Mr. Jefferson, to Andrew Jack- 
son. But this is a natural delusion, which positive suffering can 
dissipate. As all such rulers inevitably tend (the world over) to 
despotism, the turning point will be, whether the majority can be 
made to feel actually existing despotism in time to crush it by 
peaceable election, and before its strength renders opposition 
vain. We incline to think, that liberty will often be in peril ; 
but that intelligence, virtue, and interest will again and again 
combine and rescue it from the grasp of its pretended friends. 
*■ It is proved in this country, rather than in any other, of any time, 
that as society moves onward under its natural propensity to im- 
prove, intellectual power takes the place of physical force. It is 
here, therefore, that all are interested to give to this power a useful 
direction ; and rather are the wealthy and exalted, than the poor 
and humble, interested, that all should be well informed. Ambition 
does not choose for its birth-place the palace in preference to the 
hovel ; and in a free country it will not be idle. Like the richest 
soils, rank with noisome and poisonous weed when unsubdued, it 
will, if left to itself, deform society with infidelity, perversion and 
crime. By promoting the means of intellectual, religious, and, 
consequently, of moral culture, it may possibly come to be a gene- 
rally admitted truth, that public life can be neither honorable nor 
profitable to the individual, when not honorable and useful to the 
public. 

There may be much of speculation, but no settled opinion on 

2* 



18 PREFACE. 

the point, whether the Americans have a better or worse hold on 
civil liberty, at this day, than they had at the beginning of this 
century. It might have been expected, that their institutions 
would have obtained solidity by use and precedent; and that the 
enjoyment of freedom, such as was never before known, would 
have made that freedom precious to every mind, capable of un- 
derstanding its value. But Americans have too much freedom 
to have occasion to consider what it is; just as one, who never 
felt the weight of a chain, finds a silken thread intolerable. 
They have even sometimes gone so far as to renounce the guar- 
dianship of their liberty, and have appointed masters, and think it 
freedom to render homage to them. This is discouraging. But 
yet it is believed, that Americans will preserve civil liberty ; not 
through virtue and intelligence alone, but through these and the 
conservative power of interest; and through interest, because 
the American institutions are distinguished from any others, in 
having a renovating principle, which can be applied at will, with- 
out violence ; and without any shock to the established order of 
society, but that of dismissing a dominant faction, and establish- 
ing a wise and constitutional policy. This is revolution ; but it 
is tranquil and peaceable. Something of the same nature is 
seen in the English government, in the power to change a minis- 
try. Thus virtue and intelligence, the dictates of interest, and 
the provisions through which interest may operate peaceably and 
justly, lead to the belief, that constitutional order and tranquillity 
can and will be preserved. 

But the republic cannot be eternal ; that unsparing innovator, 
Time, will surely bring it to an end. Will it be by military usurpa- 
tion^ No case is now foreseen, (such is our fortunate position 
on the globe,) in which any man can have so numerous and de- 
voted an army, as to make himself a despot, while the people 
are wise enough to train themselves to the use of arms, as militia. 
Will it be by exciting and corrupting a craving populace 1 ? There 
can hardly be such a class in the United States. Commerce, 
agriculture, and universal industry, bringing comfort and inde- 



PREFACE. 19 

pendence, unknown to ancient republics, preclude the exist- 
ence of such class in such numbers, as to endanger the public 
safety. It must be yet a long time before there can be so many 
who have nothing, and who can acquire nothing, and who can be 
attracted into combinations by a sense of oppression, that the or- 
dinaryjaowers of government, aided by the force of public opinion, 
cannot control them. Will it be by civil usurpation'? This can- 
not advance far, without touching the interests of a majority, 
sufficiently to arouse them to a sense of their danger. If they 
do not discern the wrong before it reaches their property and daily 
bread, they will feel it then, and will help themselves to a peace- 
able constitutional remedy. 

Mr. Jefferson would certainly have lost the popular favor, in 
consequence of the privations and miseries which he imposed 
upon his countrymen, if he had not so intermingled foreign poli- 
tics as to make it believed, that the honor of the country was in- 
volved in his measures. So Mr. Madison would have lost his 
popularity, from the distresses of the war, if a majority had not 
been disciplined to feel, that the war was a necessary and patri- 
otic policy. Both these Presidents foresaw consequences, and re- 
traced their steps. 

It will be seen, that the nearest approach to despotism was 
during the presidencies of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison. Legis- 
lative and executive power were then in perfect harmony. In 
nearly all the states, there was equal harmony between like powers, 
and close sympathy between these and the powers exercised by 
the national government. But there was an opposition, which 
comprised a major part of everything which government is insti- 
tuted to protect, computing in any manner but by heads. This 
opposition and the judiciary saved the country from greater 
calamities than those which it endured. It is by no means 
intended to suggest, that either of these magistrates intended des- 
potism. Neither of them had any such design. But if either 
of them had gone but little further, he might have glided into ab- 



20 PREFACE. 

solute dominion under the full belief, that he was sustaining re- 
publican liberty by silencing its enemies. 

There are some dangers peculiar to this country, and among 
them civil war and disunion. When and in what form this 
danger may present itself, it would be presumptuous to conjec- 
ture. There has been a recent excitement of this tendency, but 
it served only to cause an estimate of the value of the union, 
and to fix it more firmly in the reverence of the people. 

In a land so free as this, an incessant struggle for power, both 
from good and from bad motives, must be expected. There will 
be perverse legislation, corrupt and wicked management, blind 
devotion to party, and instances of flagrant usurpation. Ameri- 
cans have no patent right in the matter of government, nor any 
better assurance than other nations have, that wisdom, virtue and 
disinterestedness will always govern their country. Their con- 
stitutions are better than those of any other country, but they are 
to be administered by men. It may often require the best efforts 
of such minds as now adorn the Senate of the United States, to 
discern and declare where the constitution was left, and to aid 
the people in replacing it on the solid foundation of their respect 
and affection. But such events may recur again and again with- 
out the final loss of republican liberty. 

Good as the constitution is, it is not now the same admirable 
product of human wisdom which it was, when first presented to 
the American people. It was then an illustrious commentary on 
the experience of past ages; — an unprecedented system, whereby 
to obtain all the good, and prevent all the evil, which arise from 
man's strength and weakness, virtue and vice, whether regarded 
as an individual, or combined in society. It was no less honor- 
able to the people to have adopted this system, than it was to 
have conceived, prepared, and to have offered it. 

That part, which may be supposed to have engaged the atten- 
tion of the framers most intently, was the executive power. It 
was so guarded as to prevent to the utmost, the elevation of a 
mere popular favorite ; and to inspire the chosen with a proper 



PREFACE. 21 

sense of responsibility, not to a party, but to a nation. Under 
the influence of Mr. Jefferson, it was so amended as to convert 
the dignity of the presidency into a commission to superintend a 
continually recurring scramble for favor and reward. This is 
the most lamentable of all Mr. Jefferson's errors. All others 
may be transitory ; this will be permanent. For, if a majority 
concur in the necessity of amendment, they will not concur in 
what it shall be ; much less will they restore the Constitution to 
its original excellence. If executive patronage be not always a 
corrupting and debasing machinery, it will be otherwise only by 
choosing presidents who have too much wisdom and conscience 
to make it so. 

Closely connected with civil war and disunion is the question 
of slavery. A most unfortunate delusion has arisen, founded 
partly on hostility to the principle of slavery, (a principle which, 
in the abstract, no reasoning can sustain,) partly on disregard of 
the true nature of the negro, partly on mistake of the common 
sentiment of all classes of society, but more than on either of 
these, on the error, that the condition of the negro can be bettered 
by general manumission, in a land where white population hold 
the political power and the physical strength. This is a subject 
full of fearful apprehension, so long as philanthropy so entirely 
misapplies itself, in territories where slavery does not exist, as to 
attempt to govern within territories where ages have interwoven 
slavery with all the desired objects of life. It is already seen, 
that this matter resolves itself into a question of mere interest; 
and no teacher is needed to make known, that the next door 
neighbor to interest is force; and that this will surely be called 
in, when interest finds itself presumptuously assailed. What 
sort of philanthropists must they be, however amiable their mo- 
tives, who propose to intelligent masters voluntarily to exchange 
condition with their slaves! The restoration of the colored to the 
regions which their Creator originally assigned to them, by colo- 
nization, is a matter of very different character from that of 
"abolition." 



22 PREFACE. 

There is one danger to national security and to republican 
institutions, which is daily becoming more and more obvious- 
It will be seen in the following pages, that Mr. Jefferson intro- 
duced this danger. It cannot be a long time before Congress 
will be called on to provide an effectual remedy. State legis- 
latures cannot perform their duties until Congress comprehends 
and performs its duty. Certainly the citizens of the United 
States will not much longer confer office on men who are willing 
that their land should be a home for the vice and pauperism of 
Europe; and perhaps subjected, (by the mere exercise of political 
privileges,) to foreign dominion. 

One must be very assuming to foretell the condition of this, or 
any other nation, on general principles ; but he may be allowed 
to make some deductions from experience. Thus it may be 
inferred, that in a country so extensive and varied as this, no 
fatal heresy will be universal, at the same time ; and that no man 
can acquire, and long retain, a dangerous popularity. There 
will be, no doubt, alarming excitements in one or more states ; 
but the strength of the federal government, powerful majorities in 
all other states, and strong minorities within the limits of the ex- 
citement, will parry the threatened evil till good sense returns. 
When the federal government transcends its limits, state authority 
will interpose salutary checks; and there will always be diligent 
and zealous minorities, in the federal government, to warn the 
people of their danger. Above all, there will be a pervading 
sense of safety and utility in the union, which no member of the 
confederacy will be seriously disposed to relinquish, as the inevi- 
table consequence must be foreign alliance, and a return to colo- 
nial dependence. 

The multiplication of states will be no evil. Each one con- 
taining a sovereignty in itself, breaks up one great whole into 
harmonious parts, and makes the great difference between the 
American and Roman republics. In the latter, Rome was the 
empire ; whole countries, appendages. In like manner, this 
country is distinguishable from modern France, which is a sort 



PREFACE. 23 

of republic with a king for its chief; but France must always be 
restive and turbulent while Paris is all France and all of France 
is Paris. 

Vast as this country is, its remotest parts will not be strange 
to each other. Commerce, enterprise, mutual wants and depend- 
ence, facility of intercommunication, and the daily messenger, 
the press, will soften and wear away prejudice, the child of igno- 
rance. The variety of religious sects will promote religion. As 
no one of them can strengthen itself by alliance with civil power, 
intolerance is deprived of its weapon, and will rather be useful 
than mischievous. 

The American community may have some analogy in its pro- 
gress to the seeming evils of the natural world. Vesuvius is not 
always casting forth its lava; it gives time for the verdure to 
return, and for human habitations to rise again, over the path of 
its desolation. A small portion of earth, or ocean, is exposed 
to the rage of any one tempest. Epidemics, by some unknown 
law, have their times and places ; and though their existence any- 
where may sometimes awaken anxiety everywhere, they do not 
wrap the whole world in gloom at the same moment. 

Those who are about to close their eyes on all earthly scenes 
need not, as we humbly conceive, to despair of the fate of their 
descendants. There is hope enough that their country will go 
on as well as the lot of humanity will permit. Certainly, such 
hope should be cherished ; for when the present institutions are 
broken up, no power but that which can still the face of ocean, 
can compose the political and social relations of Americans anew, 
in any similitude to rational freedom. 

Boston, Nov. 1, 1834. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF THE LATE 



HON. WILLIAM SULLIVAN 



John Sullivan, a gentleman of liberal education and of culti- 
vated manners, about the year 1730, came from Ireland, and 
settled at Berwick, in the District of Maine. The ship in which 
he crossed the ocean, was driven by stress of weather into some 
port on the coast of Maine, so that he fixed his residence in that 
part of the country, more from accident than design. He lived 
in a retired manner, devoting his time to the education of his 
children, his two sons, and died at the advanced age of one 
hundred and five years. These two sons, a third having died, 
survived him. They were named George and James. 

George, the elder of the two, was afterwards a major-general 
in the Revolutionary army, and, at successive periods, President 
of New Hampshire, and Judge of the District Court of the United 
States. He died leaving one son, the late Hon. George Sullivan, 
for many years attorney-general of that state, who departed this 
life on the 14th of June, 1838, at Exeter, N. H., in the 65th year 
of his age, leaving two sons. For a more minute sketch of his 
life, the reader is referred to the obituary notice contained in the 
July number of the Law Reporter, 1838. 

James, the other son, was born at Berwick, April 22d, 1744. 
He was educated by his father, and under the guidance of his 
elder brother pursued the study of the law. A biographical no- 
tice of him may be found in the LI. Letter of this work. He 
3 



26 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

died while Governor of Massachusetts, Dec. 10th, 1808, leaving 
five sons and one daughter. The eldest son died. William, the 
author of these Letters, was the second son. 

William Sullivan was born at Saco, in the District of Maine, 
on the 12th of Nov., 1774. He was fitted for college under the 
care of the Rev. Dr. Phillips Payson, of Chelsea, near Boston, at 
a period when it was customary for clergymen to receive the sons 
of gentlemen into their families to initiate them in the rudiments 
of classical learning. He entered Harvard University in 1788, 
and was graduated with the first honors in 1792. He afterwards 
studied law in the office of his father, and was admitted to the 
bar at the July Term of the Court of Common Pleas for the County 
of Suffolk, Mass., in 1795. 

During this year he made a visit to Philadelphia, and here 
formed acquaintance with many of those who subsequently rose 
to the highest distinction in the country. Many of the reminis- 
cences recorded in these Letters were derived from this visit, and 
were made from personal knowledge and observation. On his 
return to Boston, he became engaged to Miss Sally Swan, whom 
he subsequently married. After his marriage he devoted himself 
most arduously to self-improvement and to his profession. It was 
his habit to rise at four o'clock in the morning, and to apply his 
attention to the study of languages and literature, until the hour 
for business called him to his professional duties. He thus ac- 
quired that taste for intense application, which never deserted him 
during his laborious life, and led him gradually into those seden- 
tary habits which undoubtedly conduced to shorten his days. 

He commenced his professional career at a most fortunate 
period, when the tide of prosperity, which had been turned by 
war from the Old World, had begun to rise in this. Everything 
was comparatively new and exciting. Wealth rolled into the 
country through the channels of commerce, which the intelligent 
and far-sighted judiciously invested, and built up those princely 
fortunes, in some instances still to be seen, but which may not, 
perhaps, soon again be equalled. Possessed of capacity and 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 27 

industrious habits, combined with graces of manner and person, 
Mr. Sullivan soon became a favorite with the prosperous mer- 
chants of that day. Liberality was the spirit of the times ; patron- 
age was mutual, and professional services were more highly valued, 
certainly more liberally rewarded then, than they are at present. 
The profession was not so numerous, nor the competition so great; 
and its members, uniting a sense of honor with respect for merit, 
not only rose above the low arts of undermining and supplanting, 
but awarded to learning and talents their just and appropriate 
meed. Mr. Sullivan, having inherited a munificent and hospita- 
ble spirit from his father, who was equally distinguished for 
talents and laudable ambition, had the power, at an early period 
of his professional career, and the taste, to impart to social inter- 
course a full proportion of its zest and attractions. He habitually 
entertained his friends, and the strangers visiting Boston, in the 
most liberal and hospitable manner. He never allowed his pro- 
fessional duties, multiplied and arduous as they were, to interfere 
with a proper attention to the social obligations of life, which he 
ever held to be as imperative as his duties to his clients. It is a 
great pity that this spirit and devotion to social intercourse have 
been permitted to languish among the professional men through- 
out this country. There is a ■ cause for this change, but it may 
not be appropriate to this sketch to discuss it. The fashion of 
the present day lamentably exacts a splendor and display in en- 
tertainments, which far exceed the means of all except the opu- 
lent. The heart, in its liberal sense, has been sacrificed to gaudy 
exhibitions of the purse, which only serve to awaken the vilest 
passions of envy and low ambition. 

The author of these Letters was six feet tall, very erect, and in 
his gait dignified and reserved. No one, saving his own family, 
ever approached him familiarly. His manners were those of the 
old school, now almost extinct, and he could more deeply wound 
with a formal bow, than many men, less dignified, with a blow. 
He used to say, that dignified civility, based upon self-respect, 
was a gentleman'' s weapon and defence. In private life he was 



28 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

the most devoted of husbands, and the most affectionate of fathers. 
He delighted to have his family about him, and to see them happy. 
Oftentimes he would steal an hour from his professional duties, to 
remain after dinner with his children at the table, where agreea- 
ble conversation, song and anecdote softened the cold realities of 
life, and united more closely the natural ties of affection which 
bound his circle together. He was attentive to the education of 
his daughters, and many of his works were originally written with 
a particular view to their instruction. A gentleman, intimately ac- 
quainted with the author, in speaking of him, said, "His manners 
among his friends and intimate associates were very delightful. 
He was not forgetful of himself, nor unaware of his talents for 
conversation ; but his habitual kindness of feeling, and the natural 
nobleness of his character gave him, in a very unusual measure, 
the power of calling out from his guests whatever there was in 
them, which was most interesting ; and many a person has left 
his table with the feeling, that although he might elsewhere have 
seen men who talked more, he had never been himself so agreea- 
ble. Mr. Sullivan never forgot a friend, nor failed to requite, with 
ample interest, any kindness. He considered the relatives of his 
friends as having claims upon his attention, and measured their 
claims by that high standard, so . nearly allied to the perfect 
Christian, — not what was really due them, but what they might 
be expecting, or hoping, that he would consider due. He accord- 
ingly sought out, and was constantly entertaining at his table, or 
in the charming evening parties which he gathered in his parlors, 
persons from various parts of the country, whose only claims to 
this notice was some slight attention paid, perhaps many years 
before, to Mr. Sullivan or to some of his friends." His habits 
were simple and regular. He possessed extreme pride of cha- 
racter, and never deviated from a certain course of conduct and 
demeanor, which secured to him the esteem of friends, and the 
respect of all who came in contact with him, both in. public and 
in private life. He was a strictly moral man; and was in early 
life, and so continued to be, a member and communicant of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 29 

Stone Chapel, formerly the King's Chapel, the first Episcopal 
Church of Boston ; nor did he leave that church, when, under the 
pastoral care of the late Rev. Dr. James Freeman, it became the 
first Congregational Unitarian Church of the world. The fruits 
of his belief in Christianity were visible, not only in his social 
intercourse, and in his public career, but in those secret charities, 
which remained unknown, until the widows and orphans, whom 
he had privately succored and aided, after the announcement of 
his death, came to pay their last tribute of tears and gratitude to 
the remains of their benefactor. 

The author of these Letters lived during the most exciting 
political period our country ever saw. It can scarcely be con- 
ceived now, to what extent a difference in political opinions 
estranged men, who had been intimately associated theretofore. 
It was a period of great interest. The foundations of the old 
European governments were disturbed and broken up. Many 
sources of contention existed between England and this country, 
while our relations with France, then undergoing the change of 
new systems, became from time to time threatening and severe. 
At home, the country was divided into two great political parties, 
the Federalists and the Democrats, whose zeal for their respect- 
ive causes engendered the bitterest feelings of animosity, particu- 
larly in the New England States. The administration of George 
Washington had been succeeded by that of John Adams, who 
certainly disappointed the Federalists in many respects; this 
administration was followed by that of Thomas Jefferson, whose 
whole course exhibited the most determined and settled hostility 
to all Federal measures, and to that view which the Federalists 
took of the constitution, as contemplated by its framers. While 
Jefferson's adherents warmly upheld and defended the principles 
and doctrines promulgated by their leader, the Federalists as 
warmly denounced and condemned them. All was excitement. 
Mr. Sullivan was a Federalist, his father a Democrat. This 
variance of political creeds threatened for a time to disturb their 
intercourse permanently; but reflection soothed the rancor oi 

3* 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

partisanship, and they were saved from such distressing conse- 
quences. He, being a prominent person of the party, was 
brought into contact with all the best men among the Federalists, 
and although he never appeared in Congress as their champion, 
being obliged to decline successive invitations to be a candidate, 
owing to duties that detained him at home, yet he was their 
counselor and friend, and to judge from the words of the living, 
and the letters of the dead, was much esteemed and respected 
by them. 

The war with its embargo under Mr. Madison's administra- 
tion fell so oppressively upon New England, that the majority of 
the people were forced to do something towards alleviating the 
general distress. The Federalists were, and had been opposed 
to the war, and to them all eyes were turned for some remedy, — 
some step of a public character, expressive of disapprobation, as 
well as remedial of the universal ruin of Madisonian measures. 
The Hartford Convention was the result. That convention, so 
frequently condemned by politicians who know not even the 
origin of Federalism, much less the designs of the men compos- 
ing that honorable body; that convention, consisting of the purest 
patriots, the ablest statesmen, and the most disinterested of men, 
was intended only as a meeting, at which the views of the States 
respectively should be heard, and such steps adopted as were 
best calculated to bring relief, or, at least, to make known to the 
general government what the wants of New England were. If 
calm deliberation upon the public condition of a portion of the 
country, oppressed by certain measures of the government, be 
treasonable, then is Liberty robbed of her choicest blessing, and 
Freedom of her only shield. Of that convention Mr. Sullivan 
was not a member, but he was cognizant of all preliminary and 
subsequent measures, and was sent with Harrison Gray Otis and 
Col. Thomas Handyside Perkins, as a committee from Massa- 
chusetts, to bear to Washington the protests and resolves of the 
legislature, based upon the convention's report. 

Mr. Sullivan, in the year 1803, pronounced the oration on the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 31 

anniversary of our national independence at Boston. The im- 
pression he made on the occasion led to his election in 1804, as 
Representative of the city in the General Court of the State. He 
remained in the legislative halls, sometimes as senator, sometimes 
as representative, and at other times as member of the executive 
council, until the year 1830. During these years he was fre- 
quently solicited to become a candidate for congress, but he inva- 
riably declined a nomination, owing to his duties at home. As a 
politician he is universally believed, and by many known to have 
been as pure as man can be. His attachment to his party was 
the result of mature deliberation and pure patriotism. He dreaded 
to the last the dire results of Jeffersonism ; not from any party 
rancor, but from a conviction, that unless checked by the sober 
second-thoughts of the people, they would divert the objects of 
the constitution. He feared the people, while they could be so 
easily guided and influenced by leaders, whose selfish interest in 
the success of party, would tempt them to deceive and blind their 
constituents. But it was only w T hile they were ignorant, and, in 
consequence of their ignorance, liable to become the blind instru- 
ments of wily demagogues, that he had any fear of the action of 
the people. He had confidence in an educated and intelligent 
people; and he clearly saw that the permanence of our institu- 
tions, and much more, our advancement in w T hat constitutes the 
real greatness of a nation, must depend on the education, the 
intelligence and the virtues of the mass of those who held the 
pow r er. During all the latter part of his life he was, therefore, 
warmly and actively engaged in popular education; to its fur- 
therance he gave a great portion of his time, and it is a prominent 
object of several of his publications. One object of these Letters 
was to exhibit the evil of blind partisanship. 

The ambition for political distinction too often diverts the young 
lawyer from the study and pursuits of his profession. In this 
country, the necessity of the case compels him, in most instances, 
to commence practice before he has acquired an exact and pro- 
found knowledge of its principles. But the taste for study is too 



32 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

often lost amidst the political strife of party. This, however, was 
not the case with the author. He devoted himself most assidu- 
ously to his profession, and became an able, well-read lawyer. 
Not only was great trust deservedly reposed in him, but in many 
cases he was entitled to the praise of eminent ability. Few 
exceeded him in research, none excelled him in thorough, con 
scientious preparation of his causes. His name is of frequent 
occurrence in the volumes of the Massachusetts Reports. His 
argument for the claimants in the case of the Jeune Eugenie, 
before the Circuit Court of the United States at Boston, December, 
1821, reported by Mr. Mason, and published in his Reports, is a 
favorable specimen of his ability and research. His eloquence 
was interesting and persuasive, always graceful and subdued ; 
but he never was of the highest order of advocates, like Samuel 
Dexter, as represented to have been, among the dead, and Daniel 
Webster, who still lives to adorn the senate chamber of the nation, 
as well as the bar. 

Although, at a late period of his life, Mr. Sullivan relinquished 
the practice of the law, yet he failed not to take a deep interest 
in what concerned the honor of the profession. He was for many 
years engaged in establishing rules to regulate the social and 
professional intercourse of the Bar of Suffolk. He was for many 
years their President, and presided, also, over the Social Law 
Library Association, which was formed under his auspices. He 
presided at their meetings, whether for social enjoyment or for 
business, with a grace and dignity, which always inspired the 
members with mutual respect and courtesy. In 1824 he pro- 
nounced their anniversary discourse, in which he gave a minute 
history of the origin and growth of the profession in the State of 
Massachusetts. It was published. He was one of the committee 
w r ith the present Chief Justice Shaw, who prepared the charter for 
the city of Boston. Believing, as he did, that a well-regulated 
militia is the defence and ornament of a republican government, 
and that, with the decline of military discipline, the people lose 
much of the spirit of liberty, he consented to accept the office of 



BIOGHAPHICAL SKETCH. 33 

Brigadier-General of the militia, in order to sustain its failing 
honor. His example and talents produced salutary effects, still 
visible throughout his State. 

His style of writing was simple and clear, full of anecdote, and 
oftentimes conversational. His fugitive pieces to newspapers, 
journals and reviews were very numerous. He delivered many 
courses of lectures before the charitable institutions and literary 
associations of his native city, for the improvement of their mem- 
bers, and with the design to cultivate, as far as he could, a taste 
for science and literature among the young. 

He delivered the discourse before the Pilgrim Society at Ply- 
mouth, December 22d, 1829, which was published. He delivered 
the discourse before the Massachusetts Society for the Suppression 
of Intemperance, May 23d, 1832, which was published at the 
request of the Society. This discourse contains a brief history of 
the Society, which was formed in 1805, under the name of the 
" General Association in Massachusetts," and was the first step 
in the great temperance reform. Samuel Dexter, that gifted 
citizen and distinguished lawyer, was the first President, and 
warmly aided the cause until his death. 

In January, 1837, Mr. Sullivan published an exceedingly 
valuable book, addressed to the Rev. Ed. T. Taylor, minister of 
the Mariner's Church, Boston, at whose request it was made 
known through the press. It is entitled " Sea Life ; or what 
may, or may not be done, and what ought to be done by Ship- 
owners, Shipmasters, Mates and Seamen." It was highly spoken 
of, and did much to reform the condition of seamen in Boston. 
The Rev. E. T. Taylor, well known as "the sailor's parson," 
was first brought into notice by the author of "Sea Life," &c, 
who chanced to hear his voice from the Bethel, while passing in 
the street, and was led by curiosity to listen to his discourse. The 
natural and stirring eloquence' of Taylor, addressed as it was to 
sailors, induced Mr. Sullivan to think that his preaching might 
be made serviceable in ameliorating the seaman's condition, 
which had been long neglected and unheeded. Assisted by a 



34 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

few gentlemen, as philanthropic as himself, he succeeded in 
bringing this Bethel into notice, and by a proper perseverance, 
finally had the gratification of beholding a large church of solid 
materials erected for Taylor and his sailors, and a society formed 
for their protection against "landsharks," and the fearful excesses 
of vice and intemperance. Much of the present reformation and 
amelioration of the mariner's condition in the port of Boston, was 
owing to the exertions of the author, which were made without 
ostentation, and from pure motives. 

During the last ten years of his life Mr. Sullivan declined pro- 
fessional engagements, being only counselor for some few insti- 
tutions, who were unwilling to resign their accustomed adviser. 
Industrious from long habit, he could not remain idle, and devoted 
himself, therefore, to studies purely moral and historical. He 
applied himself with the ardor of youth, and studied usually from 
12 to 14 hours daily. To an intimate friend, who expressed his 
surprise and regret that he had relinquished his profession, he 
replied: "I believe I mistook, in my selection of a profession, the 
course most favorable to my happiness ; for I have never been 
conscious of real enjoyment, or of the true bent of my talents, if 
I have any, until I devoted myself to literature." 

He published several works of a more permanent character 
than those above mentioned : 

1. " The Political Class Book ; intended to instruct the higher 
classes in Schools, in the origin, nature, and use of Political 
Power." This was published in 1831, was subsequently trans- 
lated into the French and Italian languages, and passed through 
many editions. 

2. "The Moral Class Book, or the Law of Morals; derived 
from the created universe, and from revealed religion. Intended 
for Schools." This was republished in England, and an able 
review, in speaking of it, says : " The American and British public 
have united in pronouncing this the best manual of moral philo- 
sophy ever prepared for young minds." It was published in 
March, 1833, and has passed through several editions. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 35 

3. " Historical Class Book ; (part first) containing sketches of 
history, from the beginning of the world to the end of the Roman 
Empire in Italy, A. D. 476." This was published in July, 1833, 
and was introduced into schools. 

4. In 1834 the present work was published, but it has since 
been much enlarged, and some alterations made in the chronolo- 
gical order of events. 

5. "Historical Causes and Effects, from the Fall of the Roman 
Empire, 476, to the Reformation, 1517. Published in Novem- 
ber, 1837." This work was intended as a continuation of the 
"Historical Class Book," but the author pursued somewhat of a 
different course from that of the " part first." He herein describes 
the geographical position of countries, ascertains the relative situa- 
tion of celebrated cities of antiquity, and while attentive to dates, 
and to the progress of history, he marks strongly the different eras, 
and the renowned actors, with more or less brevity, as suits his 
convenience, and his opinion of their influence. Occasionally he 
leaves the series of events, to indulge in more ample discussion. 
The reader will find in this work a valuable account of the feudal 
system ; a condensed view of the usurpations and triumphs of the 
papal authority ; sketches of the origin and progress of the canon 
and civil law, with illustrations of the advancement of arts and 
literature, and of struggles for political freedom in different ages 
and nations. The work displays learning and research, and is 
an evidence of the laborious habits of the author. 

It was his intention to have published another volume, in which 
he proposed to treat of causes and effects of European nations, 
and their colonies, up to the present time. He did not live to 
complete this undertaking, but he left the manuscript of a part of 
this volume, which may hereafter be extended and given to the 
world. 

During the short portion of his life which he devoted to literary 
efforts, Mr. Sullivan effected much to elevate his own reputation, 
and to instruct society. He was ambitious to effect more, but 
his health and constitution, by nature robust and powerful, suf- 



36 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

fered from late vigils and lack of exercise, and he fell a sacrifice 
to protracted labor, which had engendered a mortal and most 
painful disease. 

He died on the 3d of September, 1839, aged 64 years. His 
remains were committed to their final resting-place, the family 
tomb, in Boston, without pomp or funeral display, in compliance 
with his own wishes. His children and nearest relatives alone 
followed him to the grave, saving a few friends, who voluntarily 
joined the mourning family, in paying the last tribute to private 
worth and public virtue. 

Mr. Sullivan was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences ; member of the American Philosophical Society ; 
of the Massachusetts Historical Society ; honorary member of the 
Historical Society of Pennsylvania; of the Georgia Historical 
Society ; of the New York Historical Society ; of the Academy of 
Letters, Sciences and Arts of the Valle Tiberina Toscana. Har- 
vard University conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor 
of Laws, which was the more valuable, because it was volunta- 
rily bestowed, without solicitation, — and was richly deserved. 
He was President of the Society for promoting Theological Edu- 
cation, and of numerous other societies and associations. 

Philadelphia. January 1st. 1847. 



FAMILIAR LETTERS. 



LETTER I 



Boston, Jan. 17, 1833. 

The citizens of the present day find themselves to be members 
of a great and growing republic. They must be members, also, 
of some political party, if they exercise the rights and duties of 
citizens. They usually become party-men, without much con- 
sideration of the reasons for being on one side, or the other. Acci- 
dent, imitation, or being on one side, because some one, not in 
favor, is on the other, are as good reasons as many can give, for 
the choice they make. 

There is a right and a wrong in all political divisions. One 
side may be entirely right, and the other entirely wrong. Two 
opposing parties may be both wrong, in proportion as they deviate 
from the sound principles of the constitutions under which they 
live. 

It is a dry and uninteresting employment to most young persons, 
to study out the origin and progress of the political institutions 
of this country. But if our republic is to continue, these young 
persons must know, in some way, how much it depends on them 
to accomplish its preservation. All modes of instruction must be 
attempted. Whether that intended, in the following pages, will 
be of use to that end, cannot be foreseen. It is the design to run 
through the prominent events, in this country, out of which politi- 
cal parties have arisen. 

In 1783, and for some time afterwards, and up to the time of 
4 



38 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the French Revolution, there were distinctions in society, now 
unknown. They were the remnants of the colonial relations. 
Persons in office, the rich, and those who had connections in 
England, of which they were proud, were the gentry of the coun- 
try, before the war. Modes of life, manners, and personal decora- 
tion, were the indications of superiority. The commencement of 
hostilities drove a large portion of this gentry from the colony ; 
but these indications continued among some who remained, and 
adhered to the patriot side. There was a class of persons (no 
longer known) who might be called the gentry of the interior. 
They held very considerable landed estates, in imitation of the 
landholders in England. These persons were the great men in 
their respective counties. They held civil and military offices, 
and were members of the general court. This sort of personal 
dio-nity disappeared before the end of the last century. 

The long continued and impoverishing war had brought very 
serious embarrassments, public and private. One mode of relief 
after the war ended, was to engage in commerce. The commer- 
cial part of the community who had means, (and some of them 
were wealthy from privateering,) and all who had credit in Eng- 
land, engaged in importing English manufactures. This traffic 
drained the country of specie, and introduced articles of luxury, 
which the inhabitants needed not, and for which they contracted 
debts which they could not pay. Embarrassments were increased 
from such causes. Importations were discountenanced, and those 
who made them, not only made bad debts, but attracted public 
odium. The usual consequences of such mistakes followed. 
There were insolvencies, and prosecutions. These new and 
improvident contracts were but a small item in the causes of 
general distress, after independence was secured. These were 
far more serious and durable, as they involved public, as well as 
private credit. 

The United States owed the heavy debt of the war. Besides this 
national debt, the states, separately, had contracted heavy debts 
of their own in carrying on the war. Towns, also, had contracted 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 39 

debts in furnishing men, and necessaries for the army, especially 
in Massachusetts. Individuals owed large sums, the interest of 
which had been accumulating during the war. In the planting 
states of the south, very heavy debts were due to the English. 
These necessarily slept through the war. 

When the courts of justice w T ere again opened, and undisturbed 
by military movements, there was leisure to prosecute for debts. 
The utter inability to satisfy judgments in money, induced some 
of the state legislatures to enact, that debtors might tender any 
personal property, at an appraisement, in satisfaction. Thus a 
seaboard creditor might recover a judgment against a debtor 
in the country, and instead of being paid in money, or by the 
seizure and sale of personal property, any country produce might 
be tendered, w T hich, not being convertible into specie, was of no 
value to him. This legal provision is supposed to have occasioned 
the prohibitory clause in the United States constitution, that no 
state should pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts. 
If this was so, the application of this clause has been extended far 
beyond the original design, but, undoubtedly, with most reasonable 
and just effect. 

The complaining and dissatisfied, of the present day, may have 
some sympathy with their predecessors immediately after the war, 
who were not sufferers from w r anton acts of rulers, but from ne- 
cessary and inevitable consequences of having obtained their 
freedom. The paper currency had sunk to be almost nominal. 
Of specie there was but a small amount. Congress earnestly be- 
sought of the states their proportion of the sums which the Union 
owed; state creditors were importunate, and private debtors were 
vigorously pursued. Massachusetts had stood forth, foremost of 
all the states ; and, at the close of the war, she had furnished one- 
third of all the effective force in the national service. This state 
owed, as its proportion of the national debt, five millions of dol- 
lars. It owed on its own account, and not as a member of the 
Union, $4,333,333. It owed to the soldiers and officers, which it 
had sent into the war, $666,666, making ten millions of dollars. 



40 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

The resources of the state, to pay so much of this debt as was 
immediately payable, were only the revenues derived from importa- 
tion, in the low state of commerce ; and direct taxation on estates, 
and polls of persons overwhelmed with embarrassments; and 
when the whole number of polls in the state did not exceed ninety 
thousand. 



LETTER II. 

Jan. 20, 1833. 

In October, 1784, Massachusetts assessed a tax of one million 
four hundred thousand dollars, on an impoverished, distressed, 
and disheartened people. This tax, together with the number of 
civil suits instituted by private creditors, brought on a state of 
high excitement. In looking over the records of this time, it will 
be seen, that one lawyer instituted an hundred actions at one 
court. Lawyers were associated with the general distress, and 
were considered to be principal causes of it, merely from the per- 
formance of professional duties. In our own time, so strongly 
contrasted with those immediately after the war, we hear of pro- 
positions and efforts to diminish the expenses of administering 
justice. At that time the newspapers abounded with severe re- 
proaches of the profession ; but as these measures produced no 
relief, while the courts were open, the acrimony against lawyers 
was soon transferred to the courts. In different parts of the 
state, armed combinations arose, for the purpose of preventing 
the setting of the courts, and this object was effected in many of 
the counties. The militia were called out to suppress these insur- 
rections ; but there was no reliance to be placed on their aid, as 
no small proportion of them, if not among the insurgents, were 
among the disaffected. At length it became necessary for the 
government to declare that a rebellion existed, and 4,400 men 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 41 

were raised to suppress it. The command of this force was given 
to Major General Lincoln, whose conduct in the execution of this 
trust will be hereafter mentioned. 

Among the deep impressions of early days is that of the great 
excitement which existed at that time, and which occupied every 
bosom. It was expected that the insurgents would march to Boston, 
and attempt to liberate certain state prisoners there. All the 
young men were under arms and ready to be called into real ser- 
vice. They wore the garb of soldiers daily, and held themselves 
prepared to march at the shortest notice. 

It fell to the lot of James Bowdoin to be Governor of the Com- 
monwealth at this period. John Hancock, whose personal appear- 
ance and character will be delineated in some future page, had 
been governor from the adoption of the constitution in 1780. In 
January, 1785, he unexpectedly resigned. Whether he foresaw 
the rebellion, and chose to escape the responsibility of encounter- 
ing it officially, or whether he considered himself too infirm to 
continue in office, may be questionable. The latter cause was 
assigned, and was a sufficient one. His successor, Bowdoin, 
was not chosen by the people, but he had the highest number of 
votes, and was constitutionally chosen by the senate. This is the 
only instance of the failure of an election, by the people, from 
1780 to 1833. In the month of November, 1785, it was feared 
that an attempt would be made to prevent the sitting of the courts 
in Middlesex county, and a large number of troops were assem- 
bled at Cambridge, under the command of General John Brooks. 
Governor Bowdoin went to Cambridge to review them. He had 
no military experience himself, and was not mounted. He stood 
on the court-house steps. His appearance and dress, as the troops 
passed by him, are well remembered. He was then about fifty- 
eight years of age. He was a tall, dignified man in appearance. 
At the time of this review he was dressed in a gray wig, cocked 
hat, a white broadcloth coat and waistcoat, red small-clothes, and 
black silk stockings. His face was without color, his features 
rather small for his size, his air and manner quietly grave. 

4* 



42 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

During the two years he was in office, the scenes of the rebellion 
occurred. He conducted himself with great discretion and firm- 
ness. It was said, that he was very well advised; and was 
confirmed, by able men, in the opinions which he sustained under 
very trying difficulties.* From a recent perusal of his official 
communications to the legislature, he appears to have been go- 
verned by a high sense of duty, and by an enlightened perception 
of what his duty was. Bowdoin was naturally a man of feeble 
health. He had been chosen as delegate to the first congress, 
but was unable to attend, and Hancock was chosen in his place. 
Bowdoin had the reputation of being a man of learning. He was 
the principal founder of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- 
ences, and its first president. Dr. Samuel Cooper, minister of 
Brattle Street Church, was the first vice-president. Bowdoin was 
an honorary member of several literary and scientific societies. 
The only writings of this gentleman, except his official papers, 
while in the office of governor, may be found in the first volume 
of the American Academy's publications. 

Bowdoin's dignified and effective administration ought to have 
secured to him the entire confidence and gratitude of the people. 
This, as will be shown, w r as far otherwise, and after two years' 
service, another was elected in his place. He took no further 
part in public affairs. His private character was that of a strictly 
moral man ; rather adapted to a tranquil, than to an ardent and 
active life. He died in the year 1790, at the age of sixty-three. 
He was buried with military parade, conducted by the company 
of Independent Cadets, which was renovated during his magis- 
tracy, and is now in possession of a standard presented by him. 
He had an only son (who left no child) and three daughters. His 
place of abode was the Bowdoin House, still remaining in Beacon 
Street. f 

* Lincoln, Heath, Brooks, Hull and others, arc supposed to have been his ad- 
visers. He consulted such men, in whose judgment and patriotism he confided, 
and adopted, and executed their advice with fearless promptitude. 

t Since torn down, to make room for improvements. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 43 



LETTER III. 

Jan. 24, 1833. 

The most accurate account of the insurrection in Massachusetts, 
is Minot's. It is also treated of in Bradford's respectable History 
of Massachusetts, second volume. All the notice of this event, 
which the present purpose requires, in showing the train of occur- 
rences, may be comprised in a short space. 

The frequent popular meetings, and the prevention of the sitting 
of the courts, having made it necessary to exert the power of the 
government, Gen. Lincoln, as before mentioned, was appointed to 
the command of a force, which he conducted to Worcester, in 
January, 1787. The arrival of these troops at that place enabled 
the court to hold its session there undisturbed. The insurgents 
concentrated their forces in the neighborhood of Springfield. 
Luke Day was at the head of about 400, and Daniel Shays at 
the head of about 1100. The latter had been an officer in the 
continental army. General William Shepherd, afterwards a mem- 
ber of Congress, had the command of about 1100 of the militia 
of the county of Hampshire. Shays was on the east side of 
Springfield, and Day on the westerly side of it. Shepherd, sup- 
posing it to be Shay's object to possess himself of the arsenal 
there, posted his troops for its defence. Lincoln directed his 
march from Worcester to Springfield. Shays, knowing of the 
approach of Lincoln, found it indispensable to attempt the defeat 
of Shepherd before Lincoln could arrive. Relying on the aid of 
Day, on the western side, Shays approached Shepherd's position 
on the afternoon of January the 25th. When they had come 
within a short distance, Shepherd sent messengers to them de- 
manding to know their purpose, and warning them of their danger. 
Shays answered, that he meant to have possession of the barracks. 
Shepherd replied to him, that he was posted there, by order of the 



\ 



44 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

government, and of Congress ; and that if Shays came any nearer, 
he and his body of men would be fired upon. He was answered, 
that was what was wanted. The insurgents were within 250 
yards of Shepherd's line ; and when they had advanced an hun- 
dred yards further, Shepherd ordered two cannon to be fired, but, 
unwilling to shed the blood of his deluded fellow-citizens, caused 
the shot to be thrown over their heads. This measure not having 
intimidated them, as he hoped it would, his guns were then pointed 
to the centre of their column and discharged. A cry of murder 
was heard in the ranks of the insurgents, and they immediately 
fell into such confusion and terror, that their leader's efforts to 
display his column, and lead on to battle, were all in vain. His 
men immediately retreated to Ludlow, about ten miles from the 
place of action, leaving three of their men dead and one wounded. 
{MinoVs Hist. Insur., 111.) 

Shepherd remained at his post, in constant expectation of a 
renewed attack from the united force of Shays and Day ; and of 
Eli Parsons, who led about 400 men from Berkshire. He had 
reason to believe that the advantage of attacking him before the 
arrival of Lincoln's troops would not be lost. But at noon on 
the 27th he had the satisfaction of seeing the approach of Lin- 
coln's troops, consisting of four regiments, three companies of 
artillery, a company of horse, and another company who were 
volunteers. Hardly stopping to rest, General Lincoln led a de- 
tachment across the frozen river, to attack Day ; while Shepherd 
moved up the river to prevent the junction of Day and Shays. 
Day's party were put to flight and escaped to Northampton. The 
party of Shays retreated to Amherst, destitute of all provision, 
except that obtained by plunder. Lincoln followed in the same 
direction, but finding that Shays had gone from that place, and 
that his troops could not be sheltered from the excessive cold 
nearer than at Hadley, he marched thither. 

While at this place, Lincoln was informed that Shays had posted 
himself at Pelham hills, and he thought proper to address a letter 
to him, and his officers (on the 30th of Jan. 1787) of a firm, and 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 45 

dignified, but humane character, informing them that if they laid 
down their arms, and took the oath of allegiance to the Common- 
wealth, they would be recommended to the General Court for 
mercy. On the same day Shays replied, that he desired hostilities 
to cease, until an answer could be received to a petition then on 
its way to the General Court. To this communication Lincoln 
replied on the 31st, "Your request is totally inadmissible, as no 
powers are delegated to me which would justify a delay of my 
operations. Hostilities I have not commenced. I have again to 
warn the people in arms against the government, immediately to 
disband, as they would avoid the ill consequences which may 
ensue, should they be inattentive to this caution." 

The petition mentioned by Shays, and the intelligence received 
from Lincoln, induced the legislature to declare the existence of 
an open rebellion on the 4th day of February, 1787. On the 
third of February the insurgents were retreating towards Peters- 
ham. Of this fact, Lincoln had notice at three o'clock on the 
same day; but it was not made certain till six o'clock. Notwith- 
standing the severity of the weather, and the disadvantage of a 
night march, he gave orders to his troops to be ready, with three 
days' provision, at eight o'clock, at which time he departed in 
pursuit. When they had arrived at New Salem, about two o'clock 
in the morning, a violent wind from the north arose, severely cold, 
and accompanied by a snow-storm, which obstructed the path. 
There was no place for shelter, or refreshment ; and as the intensity 
of the cold made it hazardous to stop in the road, for any purpose, 
there was no alternative but to pursue their disheartening march, 
which could terminate nowhere but in the quarters of the enemy. 
Thus, their march was prolonged to thirty miles, in the night time, 
not a little resembling the retreat of the French from Moscow. At 
nine next morning Lincoln's front was at Petersham, his rear five 
miles distant. 

This was the favorable moment for the insurgents. They had 
passed the night in comfortable quarters, and were in full vigor, 
and could easily be embodied, and conducted to action, against 



46 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

an exhausted force, of which only the front had presented itself. 
But Lincoln's flanks being defended by the depth of snow, and 
there being no approach but in the path in front, and having 
guarded this by placing his artillery in front, he advanced with 
the certainty of success. 

The first notice which the insurgents had of Lincoln's presence, 
was from the entrance of the advanced guard among them. The 
surprise was complete. Their minds were directed to this won- 
derful achievement, and not to the advantages which they might 
have had over those who had performed it. Men who are conscious 
of being engaged in punishable acts, must be assured of superior 
strength, or driven to desperation, in contending against others 
who move under the impulse of duty. Their courage abandoned 
them ; they instantly fled, thinking only of personal safety. One 
hundred and fifty were taken. The remainder escaped into 
neighboring states. 



LETTER IV. 

Jan. 27, 1833. 

Notwithstanding the energetic measures of Bowdoin in sup- 
pressing the rebellion, the attention of the people was again turned 
to Hancock. He was always the popular favorite, and it was 
hoped, by those who sought relief from the public burdens, that 
more was to be expected from him than from Bowdoin. Many 
who had been, in principle, opposed to rebellious measures, and 
those who promoted them, or were engaged in them, uniting in 
favor of Hancock, constituted a majority of the electors. In these 
early days it was suggested and believed, without any justifiable 
cause, that Bowdoin had English partialities ; because an English- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 47 

man, who bore a title, had become his son-in-law.* Hancock 
having been elected, continued governor until his death, which 
occurred in October, 1793, at the age of 56. 

Hancock will be considered in the history of our country, as 
one of the greatest men of his age. How true this may be, dis- 
tant generations are not likely to know. He was the son of a 
clergyman in Braintree, and was educated at Harvard College, 
and inherited a very ample fortune, from his childless uncle. 
Hancock left no child. He had a son who died at an early age 
from an accident. Hancock was sent as a delegate to Congress 
in 1775, as before mentioned, and in consequence of his personal 
deportment, and his fame as a patriot, he was elevated in an 
assembly of eminent men, to the dignity of President, which office 
he held when the Declaration of Independence was signed, at 
which time he was only thirty-nine years of age. 

In June, 1782, Governor Hancock had the appearance of ad- 
vanced age, though only forty-five. He had been repeatedly and 
severely affected with the gout, a disease much more common 
in those days than it now is, while dyspepsia, if it existed at all, 
was not known by that name.f As recollected at this time, Gov. 
Hancock was nearly six feet in stature, of thin person, stooping 
a little, and apparently enfeebled by disease. His manners were 
very gracious, of the old style of dignified complaisance. His 
face had been very handsome. Dress was adapted quite as much 
to be ornamental as useful. Gentlemen wore wigs when abroad, 
and, commonly, caps, when at home. At this time, (June, 1782,) 
about noon, Hancock was dressed in a red velvet cap, within 
which was one of fine linen. The latter was turned up over the 
lower edge of the velvet one, two or three inches. He wore a 
blue damask gown, lined with silk; a white stock, a white satin 
embroidered waistcoat ; black satin small clothes, white silk stock- 

* Sir Grenville Temple. 

f It may be that the very general practice of drinking punch in the forenoon 
and evening, by all who could afford it, was the cause of the common disease of 
gout. 



48 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

ings, and red morocco slippers. It was a general practice in gen- 
teel families, to have a tankard of punch made in the morning, 
and placed in a cooler when the season required it. Visitors were 
invited to partake of it. At this visit, Hancock took from the 
cooler, standing on the hearth, a full tankard, drank first himself, 
and then offered it to those present. Hancock was hospitable. 
There might have been seen at his table, all classes, from grave 
and dignified clergy, down to the gifted in song, narration, anec- 
dote and wit, with whom " noiseless falls the foot of Time, that 
only treads on flowers." There are more books, more reading, 
more thinking, and more interchange of thoughts derived from 
books and conversation, at present, than there were fifty years ago. 
It is to be hoped that society is wiser, and happier, than it was, from 
being better instructed. Some persons may be of opinion, that 
if social intercourse is on a better footing now than formerly, it 
is less interesting, less cordial than heretofore. It is not impro- 
bable that increase of numbers, and of wealth, tends to make the 
members of society more selfish ; and to stifle expansive and gene- 
rous feelings. Modes of life run into matters of show and orna- 
ment; and it becomes a serious occupation, to be able to compare 
condition on advantageous terms. 

Though Hancock was very wealthy, he was too much occupied 
with public affairs, to be advantageously attentive to his own 
private ones. The times in which he lived, and the distinguished 
agency which fell to his lot, from his sincere and ardent devotion 
to the patriot cause, engendered a strong self-regard. He was 
said to be somewhat sensitive, easily offended, and very uneasy 
in the absence of the high consideration which he claimed, rather 
as a right, than a courtesy. He had strong personal friends, and 
equally strong personal enemies. From such causes arose some 
irritating difficulties. He had not only a commanding deport- 
ment, which he could qualify with a most attractive amenity, but 
a fine voice, and a highly graceful manner. These were traits 
which distinguished him from most men, and qualified him to 
preside, in popular assemblies, with great dignity. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 49 

Hancock was not supposed to be a man of great intellectual 
force by nature ; his early engagements in political life, and 
the scenes in which he was conversant, called for the exercise of 
his powers only in the public service. He was so placed, as not 
to have had occasion to display the force of his mind in that ser- 
vice, so as to enable those of the present day to judge of it, ex- 
cepting in his communications to the legislature. There is one 
exception. He delivered an oration on the massacre of March 5, 
1770. 

If history has any proper concern with the individual qualities 
of Hancock, it may be doubtful whether, in these respects, dis- 
tant generations will know exactly what manner of man he was. 
But as a public man, this country is greatly indebted to him. He 
was most faithfully devoted to the cause of his country, and it is 
a high eulogy on his patriotism, that when the British government 
offered pardon to all the rebels, for all their offences, Hancock 
and one other (Samuel Adams) were the only persons to whom 
this grace was denied. 



LETTER V. 

Feb. 1, 1833. 

One who has been a careful observer of political events for a 
course of years, well knows, that it is in these, as it is in private 
life, in this respect : — sometimes seeming evil results in good ; 
and seeming good, earnestly desired and labored for, turns to evil. 
This may be shown in the occurrences just mentioned. Han- 
cock's resignation, Bowdoin's election, his defeat at the third 
election (1787), and Hancock's re-election, were respectively 
considered at the time, by the best informed men, as public mis- 
fortunes. But if Hancock had not resigned, the rebellion, pro- 
5 



50 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

bably, would not have been suppressed. The war would have 
extended to other states, and we might now have been in the 
like condition with that of the Spanish provinces in South Ame- 
rica. If Hancock had not been elected in 1787, it is doubtful 
whether the federal constitution would have been adopted in this 
state ; and if it had been rejected in Massachusetts, such was the 
respect in which this state was then held, it cannot be supposed 
that other states would have done differently from this. If the 
union of the states had not then been effected, it seems to have 
been admitted, that there was no hope of agreeing on any other 
mode of accomplishing this object ; and none, that the old con- 
federation would long have held the states united. 

When Hancock succeeded Bowdoin, all the causes of the re- 
bellion still continued. Taxes were exceedingly burdensome, and 
means for payment wholly inadequate. Commerce was conducted 
to great disadvantage, and mostly in British vessels. The im- 
portations were of articles which the sensible men of the day 
considered to be, in part, unnecessary, and in part worse than 
useless ; and not to be had without draining the country of specie. 
But in the course of this year the aspect of affairs changed in 
some degree ; and inspired hopes that difficulties might be sur- 
mounted. The fear of new commotions died away. The courts 
were no more impeded. Nine of the insurgents were tried, and 
condemned; some of them escaped from prison, some were par- 
doned ; one only was punished by commuting the punishment of 
death to that of imprisonment to hard labor. No blood was shed 
by the civil authority. Public peace and confidence in the govern- 
ment being restored, the natural energy of New England men 
was turned to objects of industry. About this time, with a view 
to aid domestic manufactures, and to prevent importations, the 
state took an interest in establishing a duck manufactory in Boston, 
and a cotton manufactory in Beverly. For some reason, both 
these efforts proved abortive. The manufacture of pot and pearl 
ashes was much encouraged, and these became the most import- 
ant article of export. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 51 

In 1788, Governor Hancock was re-elected with somewhat 
more of opposition than in the preceding election. When the 
legislature assembled, he was too much indisposed to make the 
customary speech. He sent a written message, which is probably 
the first instance of a communication in that form, at the opening 
of a session. 

In this political year there are some things worth noticing. 
Hancock made a persuasive appeal to the legislature, to provide 
by law for public schools, and for suitable instruction. Notwith- 
standing the general poverty and distress, laws were enacted, 
and carried into effect. Ability to establish the means of educa- 
tion, indispensable to a healthy state of society, and to the pre- 
servation of a republican government, are now abundant ; but in 
proportion to the increase of this ability, solicitude to apply it 
profitably seems to have decreased. It is a just ground of com- 
plaint, that the interests of education, so far as they are confided 
to the care of the state, are not sufficiently regarded. 

In 1788, Benjamin Lincoln, who commanded the troops in the 
rebellion, was chosen lieutenant-governor. He had acquired the 
highest respect and esteem, not only on that occasion, but for his 
services in the revolutionary war. It is not easy to assign the 
true cause for Hancock's treatment of Lincoln. At that time, 
Castle William, now Fort Independence, belonged to the state. 
The perquisites of the command at this place, were equal to an 
annual salary of one thousand dollars. The lieutenant-governor 
had always been appointed to this command, and had received 
no other compensation than these perquisites. Hancock did not 
give the command to Lincoln, but exercised it himself, and actu- 
ally resided at the castle, whenever it suited his convenience. 
The reason for not appointing Lincoln was not disclosed ; and 
there was no reason apparent to the public. It can be accounted 
for only by knowing what opinions and feelings Hancock could 
entertain, and how pertinaciously he could adhere to them. The 
legislature interposed, and requested to know why Lincoln was 
not appointed to the command of the castle. Hancock evaded 



52 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the inquiry, and intimated, that he was himself the proper judge 
of the time when the appointment was to be made. The legis- 
lature provided a salary and the appointment was not made. This 
conduct materially affected Hancock's popularity, but not to the 
extent of defeating his election in the ensuing year. Something 
may be inferred of the true character of Hancock from this trans- 
action; for no man could be more deserving of confidence and 
respect, in public and in private, than Lincoln. Hancock's mo- 
tives can only be conjectured. 

In 1789, President Washington visited the eastern states. He 
travelled in a post-chaise with four horses; he was accompanied 
by Major Jackson, official secretary, and by Tobias Lear, his pri- 
vate secretary ; and attended by his famous man Billy, who makes 
a conspicuous figure in the forged letters. A disagreement arose 
between the Governor and the Town's Committee, to which of them 
belonged the honor of receiving the President at the line of the 
town. From this cause there was a long delay, during which the 
President was exposed to a raw northeast wind, by which exposure 
he was visited by a severe cold. Many other persons were ex- 
posed and affected in like manner, and the affection became so 
general as to be called the Washington influenza. He came in 
on horseback, dressed in his old continental uniform, with his hat 
off. He did not bow to the spectators as he passed, but sat on 
his horse with a calm dignified air. He dismounted at the Old 
State House, now City Hall, and came out on a temporary bal- 
cony at the west end ; a long procession passed before him, whose 
salutations he occasionally returned. A triumphal arch was erected 
across the street at that place, and a choir of singers was stationed 
there. When Washington came within hearing, he was saluted 
by the clear, powerful voice of Daniel Rea, who began the ode 
prepared for the occasion: "The conquering Hero comes." 

Hancock, with some feeling of state rights, had taken the posi- 
tion that, as the representative of sovereignty in his own dominion, 
he was to be visited first, even by the President ; who, on Hancock's 
own ground, is the representative of sovereignty of all the states, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 53 

wheresoever he may be within their limits. The President was 
made to understand that Hancock expected the first visit. This 
was not deemed proper by the President. A negotiation ensued. 
It ended in a refusal on the part of the President to see Hancock, 
unless at his own place of abode, which was at the house at the 
corner of Court and Tremont Streets. The delay was afterwards 
imputed to Hancock's personal debility. On the second or third 
day, Hancock went in his coach, enveloped in red baize, to 
Washington's lodgings, and was borne in the arms of servants 
into the house. 

The President remained here about a week, and partook of a 
public dinner, dined with the Governor, and attended an oratorio 
in King's Chapel, on which occasion he was dressed in black. 
On his departure for Portsmouth, he showed his regard for punc- 
tuality. He gave notice that he should depart at eight o'clock in 
the morning. He left the door at the moment. The escort not 
being ready, he went without them;'they followed, and overtook 
him on the way. 



LETTER VI. 

Feb. 4, 1833. 

In 1774, at the suggestion of Massachusetts, a congress of 
delegates assembled at Philadelphia. This assembly conducted 
the affairs of the United States during the war until the year 1781. 
It was commonly called "The Congress." It was one body, and 
exercised legislative and executive power; and acted in the name 
of the states, in the negotiations with all foreign powers. In 1781, 
the several states adopted articles of confederation, intended to 
vest such powers in The Congress as were then deemed necessary ; 
but they amounted to no more than power to recommend to the 

5* 



54 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

several states, the adoption of such measures as the common de- 
fence and prosecution of the war required.* f 1 ) 

When the pressure of the war ceased, it was found that the 
powers given by the articles of confederation made Congress 
entirely dependent on the states. Congress could demand of the 
states whatsoever was necessary for the performance of its con- 
tracts made in the course of the revolution. But the states might 
comply or not ; and if they did not, Congress had no power of 
coercion. If money was wanted, Congress apportioned the sum 
among the states, according to population and property. The 
states had then to assess on their respective inhabitants the amount 
demanded. When the danger from the presence of the enemy 
had ceased, the states judged for themselves whether they could, 
and would, comply with the demand. The states began, also, to 
exercise acts of sovereignty among themselves, and over such acts 
Congress had no control. Congress could not regulate commerce 
between the states, nor between them, individually or collectively, 
and foreign countries. It could not derive a revenue from impor- 
tations. In short, it could recommend, and this was the extent of 
its power. The disturbances, and consequent insurrection and 
rebellion in Massachusetts, alarmed all the states. General Wash- 
ington wrote to a friend, that if such was to be the fruit of the 
revolution, it would have been far better to have saved the lives 
and the money expended. 

Several propositions were made to hold conventions, to consider 
the proper measures to be adopted. One was held at Annapolis, 
in Maryland, in September, 1786, but only five states were re- 

* It is not intended to do more than make a mere outline of historical events. 
Those who desire accurate information are referred to the first volume of the truly 
excellent work of Judge Stort, entitled " Commentaries on the Constitution of the 
United States." All the works which relate to this interesting period are there re- 
ferred to; and his countrymen are indebted to him for an historical compilation 
which leaves nothing to be desired. 

(') For minute information on these events, the reader is also referred to Ban- 
croft's History of the United States, which has appeared since the last edition of this 
work. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 55 

presented. These movements led to the convention which began 
in Philadelphia in May, 1787, at which all the states were re- 
presented, except Rhode Island. From this convention came the 
present constitution, after a long and laborious discussion, in the 
course of which the convention was frequently on the point of 
breaking up, hopeless of accomplishing anything. This consti- 
tution was submitted to Congress, and by Congress to the states, 
with a recommendation that delegates from the people should meet 
and consider it. Hancock submitted this constitution to the legis- 
lature of Massachusetts in November, 1787, and a convention 
assembled in Boston on the 9th of January following, consisting 
of three hundred and fifty-five members. 

The ablest men in the state were of this assembly. They 
commenced their session in the Old State House, and soon ad- 
journed to a meeting-house, where the Rev. Dr. Channing's 
meeting-house now stands, whence that street has its name. 
John Hancock was chosen president ; William dishing, then chief 
justice, vice president ; George Richards Minot, author of the 
History of the Insurrection, and of a Continuation of the History 
of Massachusetts, was secretary. An intense interest was taken 
in the proceedings of this respectable assembly. It was believed 
that, if the constitution was rejected by them, there could be no 
hope of having it adopted by the requisite number of states. 
There is no doubt that, if the question had been taken without 
discussion, there would have been a large majority against the 
adoption. Each member would have voted on his own objections, 
and there were some objections in almost every mind. The con- 
stitution had been thoroughly discussed, in the most able manner, 
in newspapers in different parts of the states, before the conven- 
tion met. These commentaries had been generally read. At the 
head of all of them are the numbers entitled "The Federalist," 
which were the joint work of Jay, Hamilton, and Madison, but 
principally of Hamilton. This work is held to be a high authority 
at the present day, as explanatory of the constitution. The theory 
and practice of mankind in government, from the earliest ages, 



56 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

were open to discussion as illustrative of the serious measure pro- 
posed to the American people ; and it could not be otherwise, than 
that the ablest men in the country should have been enlisted on 
the one side and the other. No one who did not live at that time, 
with capacity to comprehend the operation of hopes, fears, jea- 
lousies, doubts, and perplexities, can conceive of the sober and 
absorbing interest which was then experienced in this community. 
This interest was more deeply felt in Massachusetts than in any 
other state, in consequence of the recent rebellion; and from this 
cause the zeal, both of advocates and opponents, may have been 
the more ardent. There are few, if any, men now living who 
were members of this convention. Some of them held eminent 
stations in public life in after times. There are not many now 
living who knew them personally, and of these, perhaps, there is 
no one who will take the labor of describing them, unless it be 
done in these letters. All the men who took any active part in 
this assembly, and who were sufficiently prominent to be objects 
of curiosity, will be described according to the impressions which 
memory retains. 



LETTER VII. 

Feb. 8, 1833. 

The course of discussion was, to take up paragraphs of the 
constitution in their order, and for each member, who saw fit, to 
express his opinion. The final and only question was, on the 
acceptance or rejection of the instrument, in whole. Elbridge 
Gerry, who had been a member of the convention, and afterwards 
became Vice President of the United States, as well as Governor 
of Massachusetts, was invited to take a seat in the convention, that 
he might be called on for explanations. He was so called on twice ; 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 57 

and, on debate, it was settled, that his answers should be given 
in writing. This gentleman was opposed to the constitution, and 
so declared himself to be, in a letter addressed to Governor Han- 
cock before he came home. Mr. Gerry was a man of middling 
stature, and thin person, of courteous manners, and gentlemanly 
appearance. He took an active and zealous part in the revolution. 
His public transactions are recorded in different forms, and to 
these reference is made to satisfy curiosity, as to his ability and 
his usefulness in public services. 

The first important debate that occurred in the convention, was 
on the election of representatives for two years. Fisher Ames 
distinguished himself in this debate. He was then about thirty 
years of age, and had been known as a writer on the politics of 
the day. His speech, on this occasion, placed him in an emi- 
nent rank as a statesman and orator, which he made still higher 
and higher as long as his public life continued. No man has ap- 
peared in this country, who took a deeper interest in its prosperity 
and honor ; and it is not an easy matter to point out his superior, 
in comprehensive and just views, or in ability to display them, 
whether in speech or writing. It is said that the eloquence of the 
tongue and the pen do not often occur in the same man ; he was 
alike eminent in both. 

The constitution having been adopted by nine states in the 
course of the year 1788, the first elections under it occurred in 
the autumn of that year. Mr. Ames was sent to Congress, and 
remained a member during the whole of Washington's adminis- 
tration. He made many elaborate and able speeches. There is 
a test of congressional excellence in the general sentiment which 
the public acquire, not from the hearing, or reading, of speeches, 
by each one who pretends to an opinion, but by a community of 
sentiment, of which friends and foes admit the correctness. Thus, 
there are thousands who know that Mr. Ames was an eloquent 
statesman, who never heard his voice, nor read a word of his ut- 
terance. The two speeches which may be considered to have 
precedence of all others which he made, were that on Mr. Madi- 



58 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

son's resolutions, and that on granting appropriations under Jay's 
treaty. The former was delivered on the 27th January, 1794, 
the latter on the 28th April, 1796. The first of these speeches 
was in answer to a course of policy, (proposed for the first time 
at the suggestion of Mr. Jefferson in an official report,) which 
was afterwards fully developed, and carried into effect during the 
administrations of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison. The second 
speech was, probably, the greatest effort of his political life. He 
was then in a state of health which seemed to forbid any effort. 
He is represented to have given up all hope of being able to 
speak. His manly form, enfeebled by disease, was hardly capa- 
ble of supporting him in the action of his unimpaired mind, and, 
no doubt, this circumstance tended to excite a highly increased 
interest. No one who heard him could suppose it possible that 
he should ever be heard again in any legislative assembly. His 
friend and biographer, the Rev. Dr, Kirkland, in his beautiful 
sketch of Ames, says of this speech, " When he had finished, a 
member in opposition moved to postpone the decision on the 
question, that they might not vote under the influence of a sensi- 
bility which their calm judgment might condemn." Mr. Ames 
so far recovered as to attend the next session of congress. He 
lived till the 4th of July, 1808, and died at the age of 50. Dr. 
Kirkland's volume contains his speeches and his writings, most 
of which are essays on the political affairs of this country and 
Europe ; and also "Hints and Conjectures concerning the Insti- 
tutions of Lycurgus," — " American Literature," — " Review of a 
Pamphlet, entitled, Present State of the British Constitution, his- 
torically illustrated," — "Sketch of the Character of Alexander 
Hamilton." 

Though Mr. Ames' professional brethren held him in the high- 
est respect, they concurred with his biographer, that he was more 
adapted to the senate than the bar. " It was easy and delightful 
to him to illustrate by a picture, but painful and laborious to prove 
by a diagram." Mr. Ames was a man of purest morals ; of most 
amiable disposition ; and most sincerely beloved by his friends, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 59 

among whom were some of the most eminent men of that day. 
He was above middle stature, and well formed. His features 
were not strongly marked. His forehead was neither high nor 
expansive. His eyes blue and of middling size ; his mouth hand- 
some ; his hair was black, and short on the forehead, and, in his 
latter years, unpowdered. He was very erect, and when speak- 
ing he raised his head, or rather, his chin was the most projected 
part of his face. He had a complacent expression when he w r as 
speaking, and if he meant to be severe, it was seen in good- 
natured sarcasm, rather than ill-natured words. It was said that 
the beautiful productions of his pen were the first flow r of his 
mind, and hardly corrected for the press. Mr. Ames' life -is 
supposed to have been shortened by his excessive anxiety about 
his country. Many of his predictions have been realized, and 
some of them in his lifetime. His air, manner, and countenance, 
were those of an honest and sincere man. The condition of the 
country furnishes abundant proof that he w-as, politically, a wise 
man ; all his mournful prophecies may be in the course of fulfil- 
ment. 

Rufus King was a member of this convention, from Newbury- 
port. He had been in the first Congress. At this time he was 
thirty-three years of age. He was an uncommonly handsome 
man, in face and form; he had a powerful mind, well cultivated; 
and was a dignified and graceful speaker. He had the appearance 
of one who was a gentleman by nature, and who had well improved 
all her gifts. It is a rare occurrence to see a finer assemblage of 
personal and intellectual qualities, cultivated to the best effect, 
than w r ere seen in this gentleman. He expected to have been 
chosen to the Senate of the United States after the adoption of the 
constitution; but this not having happened, he went in the follow- 
ing year to reside in New York. He was there elected to the 
Senate of the United States in 1789, and was sent by Washington 
minister to London in 1796, and remained there till 1803. He 
was twice afterwards elected to the Senate ; and when he was far 
advanced in life, he was again sent to London ; but his health was 



60 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

so much impaired, that he came home in about a year, and died 
at the age of seventy-three. Mr. King's manner in the Senate 
was highly dignified, and in private life that of a polished gentle- 
man. His speeches, in manner and weight, gave him an exalted 
rank. Among his superior advantages was an accurate knowledge 
of dates, and facts, of most essential service in the Senate. His 
two finest speeches are said to have been on the burning of Wash- 
ington by the British ; and on the exclusion of Mr. Gallatin from 
the Senate, for the reason that he had not been a citizen long 
enough to be entitled to a seat there. Mr. King was a public 
man throughout his long life, with few and short intervals ; but, 
like all other men, in our country, whose pride or pleasure depends 
on office, he was subjected to some disappointments. Yet he may 
be considered as one of the most successful of the eminent men 
whose relations to the public endured so long. The private life 
of Mr. King is said to have been highly respectable ; biographical 
sketches of him mention that he was a professor of Christianity. 
Among other members of this convention, were Samuel Adams, 
Charles Jarvis, Christopher Gore, Benjamin Lincoln, Theophilus 
Parsons, George Cabot, Francis Dana, John Brooks, Caleb Strong, 
John Coffin Jones, Theodore Sedgwick. There may be occasion 
to mention these again, except Charles Jarvis, of whom it may be 
observed, that he was a zealous advocate for the constitution, 
though afterwards a decided opponent to the administration of it. 
This gentleman was a physician ; he was a tall fine figure, bald 
head, rather large face, and small eyes. His motions were vehe- 
ment, and he was of ardent character. He had a fine voice, and 
a natural popular eloquence, rarely surpassed. He was accus- 
tomed to pause in his eloquence, when he had said something 
which he thought impressive, and to look round upon his audience 
for the effect. This was a hazardous experiment, but he never 
seemed to fail in it. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 61 



LETTER VIII. 

Feb. 13, 1833. 

The history of the world records no case of more intense interest 
than that which pervaded the United States, in the year 1788. 
Thirteen independent sovereignties, seriously alarmed for their 
preservation against each other, more alarmed with the apprehen- 
sion that they might give up the liberty, which they had gained 
with the utmost exertion of mind and body from foreign tyranny, 
to one of their own creation within their own limits, called into 
the deliberative assemblies of the time all the able men of the 
country. Some union of the states was admitted by all, to be 
indispensable; but in what manner it should be effected, what 
powers should be given, and what powers reserved ; how these 
should be modified, checked, and balanced, were points on which 
honest men might zealously contend. Here was a case, in which 
a whole people, unawed by any foreign power, in peace with all 
the world, sorely experienced in what may be the exercise of civil 
authority ; dependent on no will but their own ; convinced of the 
necessity of forming some government ; — were called on to settle, 
by peaceful agreement among themselves, the most important ques- 
tions which can be presented to the human mind. 

The first, and most comprehensive point of division, was found 
in the extent of power to be granted to the national government. 
Some men were disposed to guard state rights, and, at all events, 
to avoid the establishment of powers which might gradually ab- 
sorb them, and result in a consolidation, through the dominion of 
an aristocracy, or despotism. Others foresaw the necessity of 
vesting powers adequate to the preservation of peace among the 
states, to enabling all of them to act as one in relation to all fo- 
reign governments, and to secure a coercive power, for all national 
purposes, over the citizens of the several states. How, then, 
6 



62 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

were these powers, so liable to abuse, to be defined and regulated 
to the satisfaction of all parties ? 

There may have been some men, who desired to be free from 
all national government, and who preferred to rely on the strength 
of their own state governments. This number, probably, was 
not great. It is believed that a large majority of the thinking 
men were decided, that there must be some confederation of the 
states. The discussion, in convention and in the public papers, 
on the powers to be given, and those to be reserved, became more 
and more zealous, and divided the country into two great parties, 
who took the name of Federalists, and Anti-federalists. This may 
be called the second division into parties; the preceding one, dur- 
ing the war, having been that of whigs and tories, borrowed from 
English politics, as far back as the reign of the Charles's. 

It is to be remembered, that the popular conventions, assem- 
bled in the states, were not to settle what the powers of the na- 
tional government were to be, but whether the powers defined, 
in the 'proposed constitution, should be those to be exercised ; and, 
consequently, whether the constitution was to be accepted, or re- 
jected. This question necessarily led to the most searching dis- 
cussion of these powers, according to the views which the fede- 
ralists and anti-federalists entertained. Those who desire to be 
r accurately informed as to the ground of difference, will find an 
able summary in Judge Story's first volume of Commentaries, 
Book III., ch. II., in which this learned and indefatigable student 
has referred to all the authentic sources of information. 

We are now looking back to those eventful days, after an ex- 
perience of more than forty years. It is humiliating to find, how 
groundless were some of the fears of the honest and able, and 
how unperceived were some of the perils, and the most dan- 
gerous ones too, which time has disclosed. The objection least 
Insisted upon was the abuse of executive power ; that most insisted 
upon was the abuse of legislative power. The danger is now 
known to be from the former source, and that if there be any pre- 
I ventive power, it is to be found in the latter. In the sketch of de- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 63 

bates in the Massachusetts convention, there is no notice of ob- 
jections to the executive power ; the discussion appears to have 
been warm and zealous on that of the legislature. There has 
been unwise and improvident legislation in abundance, but none 
hitherto that has endangered the liberties of the country, which 
did not arise from executive suggestion. In what danger these 
liberties are, under the combined dominion of "the people's" 
president, and an association of artful, selfish, and unprincipled 
men, and a subservient congress, is a very serious inquiry. This 
is precisely the case which Mr. Ames so eloquently discussed in 
his political writings. 

How truly Mr. Ames foresaw a coming state of this country, 
may be seen from an essay of his entitled "No Revolutionist," 
published in 1801. " The deceivers of the people tire out their 
adversaries ; they try again and again ; and an attempt that is 
never abandoned, at last, will not fail. We have an enlightened 
people, who are not poor, and who are, therefore, interested to 
keep jacobinism down, which ever seeks plunder as the end, and 
confusion as the means. Yet, the best informed of this mighty 
people are lazy ; or ambitious, and go over to the cause of con- 
fusion ; or are artfully rendered unpopular, because they will not 
go over. The sense, the virtue, and the property of the country, 
therefore, will not govern it ; but every day shows that its vice, 
and poverty, and ambition, will. We have thought that virtue, 
with so many bright rewards, had some solid power ; and that 
with ten thousand charms, she could always command an hundred 
thousand votes. Alas ! these illusions are as thin as the gloss on 
other bubbles. Politicians have supposed that man really is what 
he should be ; that his reason would do all it can, and his passions, 
and prejudices, no more than they ought ; whereas, his reason is 
a mere looker-on ; it is moderation, when it should be zeal ; is 
often corrupted to vindicate, where it should condemn ; and is a 
coward, or a trimmer, that will take hush-money." 

To return to the convention ; it has been observed, that the 
adoption of the constitution in Massachusetts may have depended 



64 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

on Governor Hancock. He had been absent some days from ill- 
ness. On the 31st of January (1788) he resumed his place, and 
after remarking on the difference of opinion which prevailed in 
the convention, as he had seen from the papers, he had to propose 
that the constitution should be adopted ; but that the adoption 
should be accompanied by certain amendments, to be submitted 
to Congress, and to the states. He expressed his belief, that it 
would be safe to adopt the constitution, under the expectation, 
that the amendments would be ratified. The discussion appears 
then, to have turned on the probability of obtaining such ratifica- 
tion. It cannot be assumed, for certainty, that this measure of 
Hancock's secured the adoption; but it is highly probable. The 
convention may have been influenced by another circumstance. 
About this time a great meeting of mechanics was held at the 
Green Dragon tavern, situated in what is now part of Union street, 
and westerly of the Baptist meeting-house. The tavern and the 
street were thronged. At this meeting resolutions were passed, 
with unanimity and acclamation, in favor of the adoption. But 
notwithstanding Hancock's conciliatory proposal, and this expres- 
sion of public feeling, the constitution was adopted by the small 
majority of nineteen out of three hundred and fifty-five votes. 

The adoption was celebrated in Boston by a memorable proces- 
sion, in which the various orders of mechanics displayed appro- 
priate banners. It was hailed with joy throughout the states. 
General Washington is well known to have expressed his heartfelt 
satisfaction, that the important state of Massachusetts had acceded 
to the union. There is much secret history as to the efforts made 
to procure the rejection, on the one side, and the adoption on the 
other. It would take more time than the subject is worth, to 
detail the rumors of the day, in this respect. 

The proposed amendments were taken into consideration at the 
first Congress, under the new constitution, and digested into twelve 
articles. These were submitted to the several states, and ten of 
them adopted, and now form part of the constitution. They were 
in the nature of a bill of rights, and of the same import with like 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 65 

provisions in the state constitution of Massachusetts. The ninth 
and tenth articles, on the construction of powers, are frequently- 
quoted in Congress, and in courts. 

The greatest anxiety followed the adoption, on account of the 
uncertainty whether a sufficient number of states, (several of them 
not having then called conventions,) would accept the constitu- 
tion. The required number (nine) did so, within the next six 
months, and the elections were made in the autumn, and following 
winter. 

The first Congress met at New' York in the month of April, 
1789. Washington had been unanimously chosen President, and 
assumed his office on the 30th of April. John Adams was chosen 
Vice President. The proceedings of Congress, at the earliest ses- 
sions, are highly important. They comprise the construction of 
the powers given by the constitution to that body. This subject 
will be hereafter mentioned in connection with the parties, who 
gave a character to the times, under the political distinctions be- 
fore mentioned. 

This minute account of the origin of parties has been given to 
show, that the party-name, Federalist, w r as that of the citizens 
who were in favor of adopting the proposed confederation, or 
constitution ; that is, they were earnestly desirous of entering into 
this new union. It will hereafter be seen, that Mr. Jefferson 
devoted much of his public and private life to prove that they 
were dis-unionists and monarchists; — factious and traitorous. 



LETTER IX. 

Feb. 20, 1833. 

Governor Hancock continued in office till October, 1793, and 
then died at the age of fifty-six, of gout and exhaustion. In the 

6* 



66 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

latter years of his life, he was severely afflicted with the gout, and 
hardly competent to perform the duties of his place, even so far 
as these can be performed in one's house. Still he retained a 
strong hold on the popular good will. His funeral was conducted 
with great ceremony. The militia of the town and surrounding 
country were called into service. The judges of the Supreme 
Judicial court had, up to this time, worn robes of scarlet, faced 
with black velvet, in winter, and black silk gowns in summer. 
On this occasion they appeared in the latter, but, for some reason, 
they wore neither robes nor gowns afterwards. 

Hancock had some faithful friends and advisers in whom he 
reposed entire confidence. Among them was his clergyman, Dr. 
Samuel Cooper, though this person died during the early years of 
Hancock's magistracy, (in December, 1783,) at the age of fifty- 
nine. Dr. Cooper was one of the great men in revolutionary 
days. He was learned and eloquent, and one of the most finished 
gentlemen of that age, and one of the ablest divines of any age. 
He was singularly neat in his dress. He wore a white bushy wig, 
a cocked hat, and a gold-headed cane. He was tall, well formed, 
and had an uncommonly handsome, intelligent, and amiable face. 
One could not fail to remember him well who had ever seen him. 
He was as much of a politician as a divine, and a powerful writer 
on the patriot side ; but there are no writings of his preserved, 
except sermons, and newspaper essays, which cannot now be 
distinguished as his. He is supposed to have sacrificed his life 
to the inordinate use of Scotch snuff. His brain was first se- 
riously affected, and his mind was much impaired before his 
physical powers failed. He told a friend who visited him a short 
time before the close of his life, "when you come again, bring 
with you a cord ; fasten ends of it in each corner of the room ; 
let the cords cross in my head to keep it steady." There are repre- 
sentations of the personal appearance of Dr. Cooper, having in- 
scribed on them this notice of his eloquence, melle dulcior jluebat 
oratio. The most distinguished men of that time were his parish- 
ioners, and among others, Governors Bowdoin and Hancock. . 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 67 

It may not be uninteresting to sketch the condition and usages 
of society, about the time of the adoption of the constitution, ac- 
cording to the impression now retained of them. There were 
families who were affluent and social. They interchanged dinners 
and suppers. The .evening amusement was usually games at 
cards. Tables were loaded with provisions. Those of domestic 
origin were at less than half the cost of the present time. The 
busy part of society dined then, as now, at one, others at two 
o'clock; three o'clock was the latest hour for the most formal 
occasions. There were no theatrical entertainments; there was a 
positive legal prohibition. There were concerts. About the year 
1760, Concert Hall was built by a gentleman named Deblois, for 
the purpose of giving concerts ; and private gentlemen played 
and sang for the amusement of the company. There were sub- 
scription assemblies for dancing, at the same place, and it required 
a unanimous assent to gain admission. Dress was much attended 
to by both sexes. Coats of every variety of color were worn, not 
excepting red; sometimes the cape and collar were of velvet, and 
of a different color from the coat. Minuets were danced, and 
contre dances. Cotillions were of later date. They were intro- 
duced by the French, who were refugees from the West India 
Islands. A very important personage, in the fashionable world, 
w r as Mrs. Haley, sister of the celebrated John Wilkes. She came 
over in the year 1785, and purchased the house in which the late 
Gardiner Greene lived, at the head of Court Street.* She was 
then advanced in life, of singular personal appearance, but a lady 
of amiable deportment, She afterwards married a gentleman 
who was the uncle of a celebrated Scotch reviewer ; but after 
some years returned to England. Her house was a place of fash- 
ionable resort. Marriages and funerals were occurrences of much 
more ceremony than at the present day. The bride was visited 
daily for four successive weeks. Public notice was given of fu- 
nerals, and private invitations also. Attendance was expected ; 

* This house, and the hill in the garden, formerly attached to the house, have 
since been torn down and dug away, to make place for Pemberton Square. 












68 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and there was a long train of followers, and all the carriages and 
chaises that could be had. The number of the former in town 
was not more than ten or twelve. There were no public carriages 
earlier than the beginning of 1789 ; and very few for some years 
afterwards. Young men, at their entertainments, sat long and 
drank deep, compared to the present custom. Their meetings 
were enlivened with anecdote and song. 

Among the remarkable visiters of this country was Brissot de 
Warville, in 1788, afterwards chief of a faction in the French 
Revolution called the Girondists. He was executed in Robes- 
pierre's time, at the age of thirty-eight. He came over to learn 
how to be a republican. He was a handsome, brisk little French- 
man, and was very well received here. He wrote a book on this 
country. He was much delighted with the Quakers, and is said 
to have respected their simplicity of dress, and to have introduced, 
in his own country, the fashion of wearing the hair without powder. 

The means of education have greatly improved. There were 
two Latin Schools. One in School Street, and one at the north 
part of the town. The only academies recollected were one at 
Exeter (New Hampshire), one at Andover, and one near New- 
buryport, called Dummer Academy. The latter was the seminary 
at which some eminent men were instructed; among others, Par- 
sons and Sewall, Chief Justices in Massachusetts ; Willard, 
President of Harvard College; S. Phillips, Lieutenant Governor; 
Rufus King; Commodore Preble. It was a common practice 
for clergymen to receive boys into families to prepare them for 
college. The means of educating females were far inferior to 
those of the present time. The best were "boarding-schools," 
and there were but two or three of these. The accomplishments 
acquired were inferior to those which are common among hundreds 
of young females of the present time. The sum of acquirements 
now, in the process of education, greatly surpasses that of forty 
years ago in both sexes. The moral condition of society, among 
the well informed, (so far as is seen on the surface,) is greatly im- 
proved. There is more occupation of various sorts. Society, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 69 

collectively, is undoubtedly better. Whether its members, in all 
things then and now, innocent, are happier or not, one cannot 
judge from youthful impressions. In one respect there is a change 
of immeasurable value; that is, in the intercourse of parents and 
children. It is very possible that there are some who prefer the 
strict discipline of former days ; and who believe that as much of 
substantial benefit has been lost as gained, in the changes which 
have occurred. If this be so, it arises from the quality of edu- 
cation, and not because there is more of it. 



LETTER X. 

Feb. 22, 1833. 

The first occurrences under the new national government, are S 
known from the most authentic sources, and eminently so from 
the fifth volume of Marshall's Life of Washington. 

The government, though one of deliberate consent, encountered } 
from the first movement of its being, a powerful opposition. This 
gradually strengthened, and at the end of twelve years, acquired 
an ascendency, and converted the founders of the government into 
an opposition. It will appear, in distant times, to those who study 
the records of times recently passed, that when the government 
has been administered well, the principles developed by those who 
were its founders have been adhered to. How long the fabric on 
which the liberties of this nation depend, can endure the shocks 
which it must inevitably encounter, is beyond the power of con- 
jecture. It may continue through many generations, or expire 
before another is gone. Its form and name may continue, though 
the true purposes for which it was instituted, may have been en- 
tirely perverted. There is an unceasing peril in the intrinsic 
difficulty of preserving the exact line between state and national 



70 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

authority. The same population, in each of the states respect- 
ively, being subjected to the two governments (national and state) 
may honestly divide in opinion as to rights and duties under each. 
This has been one of the causes of dissension, sometimes operat- 
ing in one part of the Union, and sometimes in another. The 
end of the Union must come from this cause, or from the extinc- 
tion of state governments, by the establishment of tyranny in the 
federal head. Such results were foreseen at the commencement, 
and faithfully considered in the Federalist. 

At the beginning of this government, there were causes of party 
bitterness, which have long since disappeared. Besides the jea- 
lousy as to state rights, and the necessity of effective national 
administration, there were the embarrassments arising out of the 
measures which Congress, and the states, respectively adopted, 
during the war; the claims on the government; and the delicate 
and difficult initiation of the exercise of its powers. There existed, 
also, a vindictive and, perhaps, justifiable feeling against Great 
Britain, and a natural partiality for France, whether justifiable or 
not. The destruction of the French monarchy soon followed ; and 
the seeming of republican freedom began in that country. War 
ensued between England and France. French politics, enthu- 
siasm, and power, sought dominion in this country. The Ameri- 
cans who opposed this, were considered as devoted to England. 
Thus the war of Europe actually raged in this country to the full 
extent, excepting that no blood flowed. Then came the whisky 
insurrection of Pennsylvania. Amidst all these difficulties, the 
national government would probably have perished in its infancy, 
if it had not been for the wisdom and firmness of Washington. 

The respect, confidence, and affection universally entertained 
for this eminent man, were fully manifested in his journey from 
Mount Vernon to New York to assume his office. He arrived in 
April, 1789, wearing, it is said, a suit of domestic manufacture. 
The members of Congress whom he met there, were, in part, dis- 
tinguished men, who had assisted in framing the constitution, and 
who had taken a conspicuous rank in the conventions in which it 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 71 

was discussed. The Vice President, Mr. Adams, who had been 
in Europe during most of the war, and who had recently returned, 
had taken his place at the head of the senate. There were in 
both branches some members who had been opposed to the con- 
stitution. Among the federal members, who may be hereafter 
described, were Caleb Strong, George Cabot, Robert Morris, Theo- 
dore Sedgwick, James Madison, Egbert Benson, William Smith, 
Elias Boudinot. Mr. Ames has already been mentioned as being 
of this Congress. It is said that the executive officers began their 
official life with more parade and ostentation than was thought 
becoming ; and that Mr. Adams walked the streets with his hat 
under his arm, wearing a sword. Possibly this may have been 
so, because it was said, and believed in Richmond, in 1796, that 
Mr. Adams was always preceded by four men bearing drawn 
swords; which is no very extraordinary amplification, if there 
were anything to rest upon. Washington's forms and ceremonies 
were complained of as amounting to royal customs. What these 
forms and ceremonies were, will be hereafter shown ; and why' 
adopted, may be found in Marshall's 5th vol., p. 163, where 
letter of Washington to Dr. Stuart, is quoted, stating the reasons i 
what Mr. Jefferson says (in one of his posthumous volumes) toj 
the contrary, notwithstanding. 

Congress continued in session till the 29th of September (1789), 
employed in framing the laws necessary to the organization of the 
government. In this space of time, the construction of the powers 
intended to be given, was very ably discussed. The number of 
senators did not then exceed eighteen. The number of representa- 
tives attending was about eighty. Soon after the adjournment, 
Washington made his eastern tour. He did not then visit Rhode 
Island, but did this in the following autumn. 

Among the subjects strenuously debated at this Congress, was 
the President's power of appointment, and removal of the officers 
of his cabinet. The appointment was constitutionally subject to 
the assent of the senate. The removal was then settled to be in 
the power of the President alone. The history of the country 



72 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

shows in what manner this power may be used ; and some who 
were then opposed to leaving it to the President alone, would have 
seen their predictions realized, if they had contiuued to the pre- 
sent day. It is perceived now, that the framers of the constitution 
erred in not restricting executive power ; and that the first legis- 
lators erred in like manner. Though they could not have ex- 
pected a succession of Washingtons, they are excusable for not 
dreaming of Jeffersons and Jacksons. Another point much dis- 
cussed was, whether the secretaries of the executive should make 
reports to Congress. The duties and difficulties of the treasury 
department may be discerned in Mr. Ames's remarks in support 
of the proposition: "Among other things," he said, "the situa- 
tion of our finances, owing to a variety of causes, presents to the 
imagination a deep, dark, and dreary chaos, impossible to be re- 
duced to order, unless the mind of the architect be clear and 
capacious, and his power commensurate to the object. It is with 
the intention of letting a little sunshine into the business, that the 
present arrangement is proposed." 

The tonnage duty was one of the subjects, at this time, consi- 
dered. Even then, the spirit that never tired, nor yielded, in favor 
of France, till the conclusion of the war in 1815, was clearly ap- 
parent. It has been before remarked, that it was a natural politi- 
cal feeling. It may have been honestly entertained. Whether 
it was honestly applied, at all times to American affairs, is a matter 
which must be left to the consideration of those who will examine 
with an impartiality not to be expected from men who united in 
it, or lamented it. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 73 



LETTER XI. 

March 1, 1833. 

Before the President commenced his tour in the east, he se- 
lected his cabinet. Mr. Jefferson was then on his voyage from 
France, in which country he had been minister some years. His 
return was intended to be temporary. On his arrival he found an 
invitation to assume the office of Secretary of State, with an 
intimation that he was to retain his diplomatic character, and re- 
turn to France, if he did not accept. He is said to have preferred 
the latter, but did for some reason forego this preference, and 
assumed the duties of Secretary on the 22d of March, 1790. 
Alexander Hamilton was appointed Secretary of the Treasury the 
preceding September. This office is supposed to have been 
offered first to Robert Morris, who declined it, and who recom- 
mended Hamilton. In the same month General Henry Knox was 
appointed Secretary at War; and Edmund Randolph, Attorney- 
General. The office of Secretary of the Navy did not exist till' 
Mr. Adams' presidency, and was first filled by George Cabot, in 
the month of May, 1798. In the lately published biography of 
John Jay, it is said, that this gentleman was invited to select an 
office for himself, and that he chose the place of Chief Justice, 
and was appointed in the same September. This eminent man 
will be hereafter described ; as well as each of those who have 
just been mentioned. 

At the next session, which was held at New York, some of the 
admirable reports of Hamilton were presented, which established 
the true course of national policy from that time to the present. 
Hamilton was then about thirty-three years of age. The first 
object appears to have been, to provide for the debts contracted 
during the war, and to establish the national credit. The light 
of the sun was then let in, as Mr. Ames said, on this chaos. 
7 



74 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

There was more light than was acceptable to some of the mem- 
bers of Congress. A great diversity of opinion arose ; and long 
and animated debate ensued. This highly interesting subject, at 
that time, was, and ever will be, one of deepest interest to this 
country, as the true basis of national credit, and of the national 
honor, then established. The discussion seriously agitated the 
country, and gave new vigor to party dissensions. There were 
two points of prominent interest, whether the state debts should 
be assumed by the nation, and whether the evidences of debt 
(called then public securities) should be "funded" for the benefit 
of the holders, at the nominal value, or at some depreciated value. 
They had long been in circulation, and sometimes as low as at 
one-eighth of the sum for which they issued. These securities had 
gathered in the hands of those who expected payment, if the 
constitution took effect ; and this was among the causes of the 
deep interest which the conventional meeting excited. When 
"the funding system," on Hamilton's report, engaged the atten- 
tion of Congress, "speculation" might be called a public dis- 
temper. « At one time the securities rose above their nominal 
value. Fortunes were won and lost in a single hour. No one 
who can remember those days, needs to be reminded of the 
intense excitement which prevailed among speculators; nor of 
the sullen dissatisfaction manifested by individuals of the opposi- 
tion. Doubtless the public debt was to be provided for; and, so 
far as can now be discerned, this was honorably and equitably 
done. But the effect was to strengthen opposition, and to furnish 
one more lever to pry up the administration. The greater part 
of the securities were held in the middle and eastern states. The 
wealth which was acquired in these parts of the Union, may have 
been among the early causes of the feelings which have been 
elsewhere manifested, since these times. 

No two men could have been brought together more entirely 
opposed in opinion, and modes of action, than Jefferson and 
Hamilton. Their disagreement became an implacable hostility, 
so that Washington thought it indispensable to interpose, and 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 75 

attempt reconciliation, in the most kind aud persuasive manner, 
but all in vain. Jefferson had the strongest partialities for France ; 
Hamilton seemed to foresee and to feel a sense of horror for what 
was to be enacted in that country. Hamilton had a high regard 
for the stability and order of the English government. Jefferson 
appears to have entertained, at all times, the strongest dislike of 
it. It may be inferred from papers now of historical record, that 
Jefferson thought the President to have been unduly accom- 
modating to Hamilton's opinions. This the President denied. 
Placed as these two men were, in the same cabinet, it is quite 
within the range of probability, that Mr. Jefferson's subsequeut 
political course may, in some degree, have taken its character 
from the feelings created, or strengthened, by these collisions. 

In February, 1791, the bill establishing the Bank of the United 
States was considered in the cabinet, to decide whether it should 
have the President's approval. This institution was thought in- 
dispensable by Hamilton, in conducting the duties of his depart- 
ment. It had been thoroughly discussed in the House on the 
ground of expediency and constitutionality. Marshall says, (vol. 
v. p. 297,) "the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General," 
(when the subject was discussed in the cabinet,) " conceived, that 
Congress had clearly transcended their constitutional powers; 
while the Secretary of the Treasury, with equal clearness, main- 
tained the opposite opinion." Written opinions were required of 
each ; and the bill was approved. It does not appear from Mar- 
shall, that the Secretary at War had any part in this deliberation. 
From other sources of information, it is believed that he concurred 
with Hamilton. Persons, who considered themselves well in- 
formed, have been heard to say, that this discussion in the cabinet 
was a scene of intense interest. Whether the public will ever 
know its precise character, may be uncertain. This may depend 
on a biography of Hamilton, if such a work should ever be written. 
How much the personal feelings of the two secretaries may have 
affected this great public interest, may never be known. It is not 



76 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

too late, it seems, to doubt and contend against expediency and 
constitutionality, all experience and precedent, notwithstanding. 



LETTER XII. 

March 3, 1833. 

Congress were engaged in February, 1791, in further carrying 
into effect, by law, Hamilton's report on provision for the public- 
debt, and maintaining the national credit. The subject then 
under consideration was the excise, or a tax on the distillation 
of ardent spirits. This was vehemently resisted by the opposition. 
They represented it to be, as it proved to be, an unwelcome 
exercise of power, though the very same opposition afterwards 
resorted to the same measure. It affected a numerous class of 
persons, especially in the interior of Pennsylvania, and was gene- 
rally unpopular throughout the Union. The tax was resisted on 
many grounds, and among others, that it was unjust and unequal, 
and that any tax on property, income, lawyers, on written instru- 
ments, or on salaries, would be preferable. It affected persons 
who could feel the tax as an oppression, but who could not com- 
prehend its expediency or necessity to maintain the public credit. 
We shall see its effect, when enforced, and under its operation, 
an open rebellion against the government. 

About this time the French had made such progress in their 
revolution as to have established their National Assembly, and the 
"great nation" had already become the terror of Europe. The 
tree of liberty was to be planted throughout the earth. The pro- 
gress of French principles was very grateful to the opposition in 
the United Slates; nor to them only. Many of the federal party 
were rejoiced to see the coming freedom of the people who had so 
essentially aided (from whatever motives) in securing that of their 



on P u H L I C C ll A it Ac T ER8. 77 

own country. In the course of the year 1792 the French Revolu- 
tion had been so fai accomplished as to demand, it was thought, 
;i public expression of joy by the Americans. 

"A civic feast" was undertaken in Boston; such a one as no 
rational being would desire to see repeated. A whole ox, skinned 
and dressed, leaving the head and horns entire, and the eyes pro- 
truding from their sockets, was turned on a greal wooden spit, 
before ;i furnace. Winn the animal w;is sufficiently roasted, he 
was placed on a sledge or carriage, and there properly supported 
and propped dp, was drawn through the principal streets of the 
town, and was followed l>y two cart-loads of bread and two hogs- 
heads of punch. An immense concourse of people attended; 
there was bul one mind and heart, and there was no reference to 
political divisions. The procession terminated in State Street, 
where a table was laid from the eastern end of the City Hall to 
near Kilby Street ; and on this table it was intended, that the 
friends of liberty should feast from the roasted ox. The scene 
soon changed; the cutting up and distribution of the animal be- 
came ridiculous; and soon riotous. The roasied fragments were 
thrown into the air, and hurled al female spectators who thronged 
the balconies, and crowded the windows. The end of this matter 
was, that a pole of fifty or sixty feel in length was raised in what 
was thence, Liberty Square, and surmounted with the horns of 
the ox, where they remained several years. If. so happened that 
the civic feast occurred here on the same day that the head of 
Louis XVI was severed from his body by the guillotine. This 

Unexpected event seemed tO open the eyes of many Americans 

to the true character of the French Revolution. Ii struck some 

of them with astonishment and horror; while it Was to others a 
matter of heartfelt pleasure. The latter, however, did not ap- 
prove because they were gratified in destruction of the man, lor 

the common feeling was, that. America was greatly indebted to 
Louis; but because a king had fallen; and a triumphant advance 
had been made in the cause of liberty. It is probable that, tin 
leaders of the opposition in the United States, not only saw this 

7* 



> FAMILIAR 1 kt r r us 

event in this light, but saw in encouragement, that 

federal power might be demolished, 

tpplication of the excise law, there were serious 
ats and popular movements in the western part of Penn- 
sylvania; so much so, that tlu- President issued a proclamation 
comman< ice, and intimating that legal proseoutions 

n Id be enforced against all infractions of tlu- laws. This ms 
tem of taxation w s revised b) ss in May, 179., but the 

discontents continued, 

The year i? i) ;w.>.s one of raanv important events. Parties 

taken decided character in ami out > rhe vene- 

b \\ tshington shielded him from open attacks; but his 

secretary, Hamilton, w spared, On the 27th of February, 

Mr. Giles, o \ irginia, moved in the House of Represent - - 

•mums, comprising several charges of official mis- 
conduct, These resolutions were debated with great acrimonj 
imtil the close of the sess ■ . m the 3d of March, Hut not more 
than - s q members voted to sustain an) one of the resolutions. 
s was a period of excessive bitterness, as appears from the 

ad newspapers ^( the da) . 
Hamilton was accused, in a paper called the •■National Ga- 
." well known to be edited bv a clerk in the office of Mr. 
h designs to introduce a m j . and. to establish 

w eminent similar to that of l! in. All tin- measures 

recommended bj him, from the commencement o( his dutu s, « 
brought in proof ot these accusations; particular expressions in 
sports were selected as conclusive evidence, On the other 

hand, Mr. Jefferson was charged in the newspapers with the de- 

- . ig the government, b) rendering its officers odious; 
being the partisan of France; and with availing himself of 

has official station to misrepresent the purposes of the e\eeu 
The motives o\ both these gentlemen ma) be left to the decis 
imes more distant from those in which the\ were acting, than 

the present ; and to what ma\ be then an impartial judgment. 
The) are referred to | -w how the Mew sot Mr. Jefferson 



• IN I'll II I. I ( ( II A II A < T E l( S /') 

were afterwardi carried into his own administration I" thi 
nine men oi the present day believe, thai subsequent publii 
difficulties, and the present tate oi the country, may be attributed 
i\li Gilei bad .1 long political lifei He was of middli stature, 
rather lull person, light complexion and hail , and lull face, with 
(mi color, Mr was •> very able debater, and thoroughly versed in 
the tactics ol deliberative assi mblies. He mel with some accidenl 
which deprived him of the use oi one oi his lowei Limbs. When 
he was ;i senator, • * f ill'' close <>i Mr, Madison'i administration, 
lie moved mi two crutches. Il* showed himsell to be •> cool and 
determined opponent ol the Washington administration, and i 
pecially of (In- Secretary oi the Treasury. In Mir. pear, when 
the customary motion was made on Mir !2d February, that the 
House of Representatives should adjourn, for the well-known 
purpose of visiting Washington, he was one of the eighteen who 
opposed it. And when Washington retired, in L797, in \\>< 
debate on the address to him, drawn l»y Mr. A me:;, Mi. Gilei 
opposed its adoption. A.raong othei thingi hi said, "lie did 
not regrel the President's retiring from office, He believed i\i>,, 
wnc ;i thousand men in the United States who were capabli oi 
filling the presidential chaii as well as il had been filled hereto 
fore. And although ;i clamoj had been raised in all parts ol the 
United States, more oi li , from apprehensions on the departun 
of the President from office, yet, nol feeling Mum- apprehen ioni 
himself, he was perfectly easy on the occasion " "He, foi hii 
part, retained the same opinions he had always done with n pi i i 
to certain prominenl measures of his administration; noi should 
any influence under heaven ever prevenl him from expressing 
thai opinion an opinion in which he was confident, ere long, all 
America would concur." A majority did concui with Mr. Giles 
ere long, and these " measures," so fai practicable, wi n 

overruled ; but whether for the prosperity, honor, and happiness ol 
the country, il m;iy be safely lefi to history to decide. Even now, 
ii must strike one wiili surprise, thai a ■< mi ible man, and a nativi 
Virion i. in loo, lou nd 1 1 ;m agreeable duty to record his disapproba- 



80 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

tion of a man whom all America, nay, all the world, regards with 
a veneration which never before or since has fallen to the lot of 
any man. After Mr. Giles left Congress he was for some time 
governor of Virginia. To what extent genuine hatred of the 
persons who were the authors of these "measures" imparted a 
character to Mr. Giles's feelings ; and how far he was convinced 
that Washington's administration was injurious to the country, he 
might not have known himself; since his views as a statesman, 
were so intimately combined with an implacable personal hatred. 
It is worthy of notice, that the present chief magistrate of the 
United States,* was one of the twelve in the House of Representa- 
tives, who refused the proposed testimonial of respect for the 
public services of George Washington. How much in character 
it was, for Andrew Jackson so to vote, may be judged of from the 
fact, that the address to Washington contained these sentiments: 
" For our country's sake, for the sake of republican liberty, it is 
our earnest wish, that your example may be the guide of your 
successors ; and thus, after being the ornament, and the safeguard 
of the present age, become the patrimony of our descendants." 
(House of Rep., Dec. 15, 1796.) 



LETTER XIII. 

March 6, 1833. 

In the early part of the year 1793, France declared war against 
England. This country was then entangled with France, by 
treaty. A very serious question arose, as to the part which the 
United States should take in this war, or whether any. It appears 
to have been expected in France, that the United States would 

* Andrew Jackson. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 81 

engage on its side, from treaty stipulations, or inclination, against 
England. 

The President, and his cabinet, were unanimously of opinion, 
that the United States were not held to take part in a war begun 
by France; and on the 18th of April, the celebrated proclamation 
of neutrality was issued. On the receiving of a minister from the 
French republic, the cabinet were divided; Jefferson and Ran- 
dolph were in favor of it, Hamilton and Knox against it. The 
President adopted the opinion of the former. It appears to have 
been Washington's practice, to state questions in writing to the 
members of his cabinet, and to require their written answer; these 
he appears to have examined, and to have formed his own opinion ; 
sometimes requiring a discussion of these opinions in his presence. 

The country was already divided into parties, for and against, 
making a common cause with France. That in favor of it, 
severely condemned the proclamation ; the other approved of it, 
in the highest terms. The former denounced it as a royal edict, 
and as a daring assumption of power; while the other upheld it 
as a new proof of the wisdom and patriotism which had always 
distinguished Washington. About this time, there were intro- 
duced from France imitations of what was there called the Jacobin 
Club. This club (so called from its place of meeting) was com- 
posed of certain prominent men, who met to decide what the 
measures of the government should be, and they accomplished 
their objects by intrigue and terror. The institutions of the same 
sort here, were formed for the ostensible purpose of preserving 
civil liberty, but for the real purpose of overawing the government. 
They were here called " Democratic Societies," by their members, 
and "Jacobin Clubs," by their adversaries. They had an affinity 
with each other, by means of corresponding committees. They 
approved of all the excesses of the French Revolution. In some 
of their festivals, especially in Philadelphia, extraordinary cere- 
monies are said to have occurred, in the presence, too, of dis- 
tinguished men. But the memory of them has passed away; and 
it is probable that the agents in these scenes lived to regret them. 



89 I LMILIAB i E r I BRS 

It can In- do otherwise useful to refer to them, than to show the 
character of the times; and the excessive enthusiasm which the 
transactions of France inspired; and how embarrassing it was to 
our own government, Washington fell these combinations, as 
being destructive of all social order; and is supposed to bave 
alluded to them in bis farewell address, In speaking of "se< 
societies." He mentioned them again and again, with the mosl 
decided disapprobation, in lus private letters. 

The first minister that appeared here from the French republic, 
was the "citizen" Genet, who is said to have instituted the Jaco- 
bin Clubs in the United States. His employers assumed, thai 
the United States were to engage, at once, in the war; ami lu- 
was authorized to commission privateers, and to raise, in the 
United States, forces to attack British and Spanish possessions on 
this side oi the water. He seemed to consider himself entirely 
independent of the government of the United States. He was 
man of middling stature, and full person, (as now recollect) 
and of ardent and animated temperament. 

It is usual for a foreign minister to present his credentials to 
the government 10 which he is sent, ami to he received as such 
before he begins to exercise his functions. But the citizen Genet 
did not slop tor such ceremonies. He landed at Charleston, S. 
C, on the 8th April. He was thi >1 with everj demon- 

ion of respect and joy, as the representative of tin- great na- 
tion : ami during his residence there, assumed to issue commissions, 
tor the arming, fitting out, and manning with Americans, vessels 
of war *"to cruize and commit hostilities on nations with whom tin 
United States wen- at peace." {Marshall, v. ill. 

His journej from Charleston to Philadelphia, was as that of a 
orious chief, to whom a country was indebted tot i tion. 

He arrived at Philadelphia on the 16th of May, and was then 1 
received in a manner which might have misled a more intelligent 
man than citizen lie;; I strikes one with some surprise, that 

such events could have occurred in this country, One cannot 
look back on tin- enthusiasm and gratitude felt for republican 



', •■• p i, i: l. I ' ' (i /. I- I. < I I /■ 

; i ;,(,< ' , ■• ifhoul fci im:' bo <■ eanil ■ ■< lion may 

'-,,' ..I < .1 pi opI< I ' u i we look bai l' 'mi'!' » ih' in/lui rn <■ '<( < -' /,' . 
.,i po iti rioi hid' , bough Ihi ' ought fhi n lo ha 1 1 

'.,,. ..i, |!< ;-., ;<!)/,;» thlN I ' ; j,;r J';i,;i ! ' I y / n'-'Kii." 

/ii'-m' natural 1 1 i.u i I hi '/.Mi ii- /.. in ' »/;i'i fnl affjil hmi 111 lO I '■■'•' I 

/,l,il'- ;. rnonari h ) , and ■ , L 

fiail long been the common enti merit of thi fvboli i '". ■ 

lhal l ram - ba<l \n < omi « r< publh , •■• iding lo main 

tain ncwclf, again*) Kngland :uA royalty, On ' 

I'll),;- I M -in l'< :i'!ri,jl of 

.,// iic intible I- ' ling 'I .'■' greater , thi timation in 

which V\ : i - h i r » ; ' i o ; * ' . fori ighl should be held, uinci I.' 
through, 'a\u\ (■!! bi yond 'lii'. excrti rnenl , and, mod honorable to 
him, wan thai magnanimity which opposed ifnclf to the popular 
• lamoi 

'. ' ',;. / .'*<-') to find thai he could riol carry on the war 

from thii country, \>s ing the power* ol sovereignty hi arm 

■/!•' ■. i i.;:.' pi i/' i ondi rn r>n .'jl r : 

nmi r»j wan di t< rmim d to adhi 1 1 m i 

trality , to vhich tJend bad no objection, provii could >.:>n y 

on the '-'.in himnclf; ;r. though HlJJigerei could be 

condui ted in ;> neutral t ( >"i^i y in thi 

without making thai country ;• party in h I ed on 

doing , and when told thai be would l>< n i ti i f force, be threat- 
ened /o appeal from the President to the people 1 1 1 i o 
with Mr. (j e execi dingl v i mbai the Prei ident 

On ow '•' ' • ion he had to call on Govi rnoi Mifflin, of Pi 
vania, to pn renl the nailing ol ;> ■.'••.•'•I which had t> «■ - *- n brought 
/ .i French frigate, and ran rert< o ;■ pri rat 

.'! named /.'• Petit Democrat It van on thin 

'./i, thai fienel told Alexander J Dal la tary to { >'> 

pernor Mifflin, that be would appeal to tbi people. Mr. Dalian in 

mi gentleman, who <va ol tbe 1 n 

of the United Itati t U wan a lawyer ol sown eminence, ;i ';>JI 
man, ol good mannern, marked with the small pox, (if righl 



84 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

membered,) and of inexhaustible eloquence. A speech of two, 
three, or even four days, was not an unusual effort with him. 
About twenty-five years ago he came to Boston to argue a cause. 
He was a very fluent speaker, but diffusive, and fanciful. He 
was entirely on the French side of American feeling, as was 
Governor Mifflin. The conduct of Mr. Genet became so insolent, 
and offensive, that the President required of Governeur Morris to 
demand of the French government his recall. Morris was then 
minister at Paris. Genet was recalled, though his mission would 
have terminated if he had not been, as in the revolutionary move- 
ments in France, the party to which he was indebted for his min- 
istry was overthrown. Mr. Genet remained in the United States, 
and retired to the interior of the State of New York, where he 
lately deceased. He was succeeded by Mr. Fauchet, whose 
agency was no less conspicuous, though conducted with more 
regard to diplomatic usage than Mr. Genet's. 

In the prosecution of the war, between France and England, 
in 1793, two serious difficulties arose. The French having 
immense armies on foot, and the laboring population having been 
drawn forth by military conscriptions, the want of provisions 
became very pressing. France depended, to some extent, on 
supplies from America. The English had the command of the 
ocean, and, in June, issued an order to stop all vessels bound to 
France, loaded with flour, corn, or meal; and to take them into 
port, unload them, pay for the cargoes and freight, and then libe- 
rate the vessels. There was no doubt, that this was a strong 
measure, and whether defensible, or not, on any construction of 
the law of nations, it is not the present purpose to inquire. The 
order gave great dissatisfaction in the United States. 

The other difficulty was, that the British then began to impress 
seamen from American vessels. Impressment has been an im- 
memorial usage in England ; and she asserts the right of taking 
her own subjects, wherever found, in time of war. The difficulty 
of distinguishing between her own, and other subjects, often led 
to the impressment of Americans. This became a subject of 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 85 

very serious and just complaint. Whether England might take 
persons out of American vessels, who were born British subjects, 
but who had been naturalized in the United States, was another 
point of difference. England contended that her subjects can 
never abandon their allegiance, and may be taken on the high 
seas from any but a national vessel of war. During the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Jefferson, and that of Mr. Madison, the protection, 
not only of naturalized persons, but of all persons, sailing in 
merchant vessels, bearing the American flag, was contended for, 
and was fostered into one of the causes for declaring war. This 
point remains as it was, forty years ago, though rather worse for 
the war, undertaken to sustain the American pretension. From 
the national similarity of the English and Americans, it is ap- 
parent, that it is a subject of intrinsic difficulty; and one that 
can be settled only by a course of negotiation, little likely to 
occur. 



LETTER XIV. 

March 6, 1833. 

The effect of the aggressions of England during the year 1793, 
and the partiality for France were apparent, at the next meeting 
of Congress, on the 4th of December. There was a majority of 
about ten votes against the administration, as appeared in the 
choice of speaker. The opposition supported Mr. Muhlenberg, 
the federalists Mr. Sedgwick. Thus it may be considered, that 
the federal administration was destined to fall, and that the politi- 
cal system which the federalists had founded, would, "ere long," 
pass into the hands of those who had always been its enemies. 

The speech of Washington, at the opening of the session, was 
comprehensive and luminous, and well deserves the study of all 
8 



86 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

who would understand the elements of the great political events 
which followed. Mr. Jefferson (Secretary of State) presented his 
detailed and ingenious report on commercial relations. This also 
deserves an attentive study, since it shows the principles of the 
policy which was carried into effect under his presidency. As 
these are matters of history, ably set forth in Marshall's fifth vol- 
ume, it would be only transcription to notice them more fully; 
nor would it be expedient to do so, in these hasty sketches. Mr. 
Jefferson had intimated his intention to resign his office some 
months before this time. He was prevailed on (as he says) to 
remain, until the 31st of December, 1793, and then withdrew. 
The most favorable account of Mr. Jefferson's official conduct, by 
any judicious and impartial writer, is that given by Chief Justice 
Marshall, who is incapable of doing injustice to any man, even 
when a political opponent. On this occasion he was telling truth, 
with the sanction of his own high reputation, and on as interesting 
a subject as ever engaged the attention of any historian — The 
Life of Washington. It is rather to be supposed, from his well- 
known character, that he was careful not to make himself liable 
to the imputation of having performed a trust, unfavorably to one, 
whose opinions he might not have approved. 

This able historian's view of Mr. Jefferson at this period, should 
be considered, because it gives a key to his subsequent political 
life. Chief Justice Marshall says, at a time when Mr. Jefferson 
was living, (vol. v. 488,) among other things : "This gentleman 
withdrew from political station, at a moment when he stood par- 
ticularly high in the esteem of his countrymen. His fixed oppo- 
sition to the financial schemes proposed by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, and approved by the legislative and executive depart- 
ments of the government ; his ardent and undisguised attachment 
to the revolutionary party in France; the dispositions which he 
was declared to possess in regard to Great Britain ; and the popu- 
larity of his opinions respecting the constitution of the United 
States ; had devoted to him that immense party, whose sentiments 
were supposed to comport with his on most, or all these interest- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 87 

ing subjects. To the opposite party, he had, of course, become 
particularly unacceptable. But the publication of his correspond- 
ence with Mr. Genet, dissipated much of the prejudice which had 
been excited against him. He had, in that correspondence, main- 
tained, with great ability, the opinions maintained by the federal- 
ists on those points of difference, which had arisen between the 
two republics. The partiality for France, which was conspicuous 
through the whole of it, detracted nothing from its merits, in the 
opinion of the friends of the administration, because, however 
decided they might be to support their own government in a con- 
troversy with any nation whatever, they felt all the partiality for 
that nation, which the correspondence expressed. The hostility 
of his enemies, therefore, was for a time considerably lessened, 
without a corresponding diminution of the attachment of his friends. 

"In office it would have been impracticable long to preserve these 
dispositions. And it would have been difficult to maintain that 
ascendency which he held over the minds who had supported 
(and would probably continue to support) every pretension of the 
French Republic, without departing from principles and measures 
which he had openly and ably defended." 

It may not then have been Mr. Jefferson's love of his " clover 
fields," and desire of retirement, that carried him back (31st De- 
cember, 1793) to Monticello ; but his perception of the same 
truths which were obvious to the historian. It is well remembered 
that Genet openly charged Mr. Jefferson with having " a language 
official, and a language confidential."* He may have entertained 
very different ojnhions as secretary, from those which he enter- 
tained as a man, and which he might fearlessly act upon when he 
had attained to the presidency. 

Mr. Jefferson mentions Chief Justice Marshall several times, in 
his volumes, with some sensibility. In writing to his old friend 
John Adams, under date of January 15, 1813, (vol. iv. 195,) he 

* Mr. Jefferson, in a letter to Mr. G. Morris, says: "If our citizens have not al- 
ready been shedding each other's blood, it is not owing to the moderation of Mr. 
Genet, but to the forbearance of the government." 



SS FAMILIAR LETTERS 

remarks: "Marshall has written libels on one side; others, I sup- 
pose, will be written on the other side ; and the world will sift 
both, and separate the truth as well as they can." 

The session o( Congress commenced on the 4th of December, 
L793, was one of the most important and interesting that had 
hitherto occurred. It intimated the motives of parties, as they 
have since been developed, in public affairs. Both branches were 
composed of able men, and among- them were some of the most 
eminent. The House of Representatives was nearly equally di- 
vided on great questions. The members who might be regarded 
as the most prominent in the Senate, were George Cabot, 
Caleb Strong, Oliver Ellsworth, Aaron Burr, Rufus King, Robert 
Monis, Albert Gallatin. In the house of Representatives, were 
Abraham Baldwin, William B. Giles, William B. Grove, Richard 
Bland Lee, Nathaniel Macon, James .Madison, John Francis Mer- 
cer, F. A. Muhlenberg, Josiah Parker, Thomas Sumpter, Abraham 
\ enable, Alexander White, who voted generally together. And 
on the other side, were Fisher Ames, Robert Barnwell, Egbert 
Benson, Jonathan Dayton, Thomas Fitzsimons, Nicholas Gilman, 
Benjamin Goodhue, James Hillhouse, William Hindman, Daniel 
linger, Philip Key, John Laurence, Samuel Livermore, William 
Vans Murray, Theodore Sedgwick, Jeremiah Smith, William 
Smith, Jeremiah Wadsworth, Artemas Ward, who on most occa- 
sions voted together; and sometimes Elbridge Gerry voted with 
them. 

To such men fell the duty of investigating the principles which 
ought to regulate commercial relations with all foreign countries, 
and at a time when all Europe was in the paroxysm of revolution : 
and when the Mediterranean commerce was at the mercy of the 
Algerines; and the eitizens of this country divided almost to the 
line o( civil war, among themselves. In this high excitement the 
fortress which was to be demolished, or protected, was the Wash- 
ington administration. 

The first great legislative movement arose on Mr. Madison's 
resolutions on commercial atlairs, presented on the 4th January, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 89 

1794; (founded on Mr. Jefferson's report.) This gentleman had 
disclosed similar views on the subject of tonnage duty, at the 
first Congress. The debate was long and acrimonious. The 
feelings of the House, and the character of the debate, may be 
judged of from this incident: Mr. Ames said, the resolutions had 
French stamped on the very face of them. 

Josiah Parker, of Virginia, replied, that he wished there was a 
stamp on every forehead, to designate whether he was for France 
or Britain. 

The two parties were so nearly balanced in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, that measures, deeply affecting the permanent interests 
of the United States, might be settled by majorities not exceeding 
five. In the Senate, the Vice President had, repeatedly, to settle 
the most important questions by his casting vote. An act to cut 
off all intercourse with Great Britain, passed the House by a small 
majority; in the Senate its fate depended on the casting vote of 
the Vice President, who voted against it. 

Inquiry into the official conduct of Hamilton, as Secretary of 
the Treasury, was renewed at this session. Mr. Giles, Mr. Mon- 
roe, Mr. Venable, all Virginians, and all of them personal enemies 
of the Secretary, conducted the inquiry with the utmost scrutiny; 
but their efforts, even in these bitterest times of party, were una- 
vailing. The result was most honorable to the Secretary. 

The great subjects suggested in the President's message, and 
in official reports, at the early part of the session, were under 
consideration in the two branches, from the beginning of Janu- 
ary to the 16th of April. The French excitement could rise no 
higher among the people. They insisted that the friends of 
France should declare themselves by wearing the national cock- 
ade. They insisted, too, on war against England : and that every 
motive of self-respect, and justice, forbade a moment's delay; 
while every motive of gratitude to the nation which had made us 
free, and were now struggling to maintain their own freedom, 
demanded all our aid. In the two branches of Congress the war 

8* 



90 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

of words disclosed a state of feeling which the decorum of the 
place hardly restrained from full expression. 

We live now in times of some interest ; and which ought to be 
far more interesting than they are. No one, not old enough to 
remember the state of feeling at that time, can have any con- 
ception, from what is now experienced, of the intense excitement 
which then prevailed. 



LETTER XV. 

March 9, 1833. 

In this state of things, Congress, and the whole country, were 
brought to a sudden pause, by the appointment of John Jay, then 
Chief Justice of the United States, to be Envoy Extraordinary to 
Great Britain. This was an unexpected blow to the French party. 
As soon as they could rally, the administration was attacked, not 
only for the measure itself, that is, opening a negotiation at all, 
but especially, that the President should have nominated such a 
man as John Jay, and furthermore, a judicial officer. It may be 
some relief in recurring to these dry and forgotten facts, to state 
what is recollected of the personal appearance and conduct of 
Mr. Jay. 

Soon after Mr. Jay's appointment to the office of Chief Justice, 
he came to Boston to hold a court. As now remembered, his 
personal appearance indicated his origin. He was descended 
from one of the French Protestant families, usually called Hugue- 
nots. This name, which is of uncertain derivation, was, like 
Puritans, given to a certain class of Christians. It will be re- 
collected that in 1598, when Henry IV. fought his way to the 
crown, he issued the edict of Nantz, by which he assured to all 
his Protestant subjects, the rights and privileges enjoyed by those 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. gj 

who were Catholics. In 1685, this edict was revoked by Louis 
XIV. ; at the instigation, it is said, of one of his female favorites, 
who had great power over him. 

The Huguenots escaped from France, and carried with them 
skill, talents, industry and property, and established themselves 
in different parts of Europe. Many families found their way to 
America in the course of time. France is supposed to have lost, 
by persecution and emigration, a million of its best subjects. 
Mr. Jay's family came over, and settled in New York. He was 
born in this country. He was forty-four years of age when 
appointed Chief Justice in 1790. His height was a little less 
than six feet; his person rather thin, but well formed. His com- 
plexion was without color, his eyes black and penetrating, his 
nose aquiline, and his chin pointed. His hair came over his 
forehead, was tied behind, and lightly powdered. His dress 
black. The expression of his face was exceedingly amiable. 
When standing, he was a little inclined forward, as is not un- 
common with students long accustomed to bend over a table. 
His manner was very gentle, and unassuming. This impression 
of him was renewed in 1795, in New York. He had returned 
from his mission to England in that year, and had been chosen 
Governor of New York, which office he assumed in July. He 
was then about fifty, (December, 1795.) His deportment was 
tranquil and unassuming; and one who had met him, not knowing 
who he was, would not have been led to suppose, that he was in 
the presence of one eminently gifted by nature with intellectual 
power, and who had sustained so many offices of high trust and 
honor. About six years after this time, he retired from public life, 
and almost from the world, and passed the remainder of his days 
at the family estate at West Chester. He took no part in political 
affairs, and was not publicly heard of, except in two or three in- 
stances, when he answered inquiries concerning facts within his 
knowledge. 

History will assign to John Jay an elevated rank among the 
great ; not only so, it will place him equally high among the pure 



92 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and the virtuous. Throughout his useful and honorable life, he 
was governed by the dictates of an enlightened Christian con- 
science. He thought and acted under the conviction, that there 
is an accountability far more serious than any which men can 
have to their fellow men. The bravest soldiers, and the worthiest 
statesmen, have ever been those who believed in such accounta- 
bility. 

Other events of the year 1794 remain to be mentioned. Con- 
gress adjourned June 9th, in very ill humor. In February before, 
Mr. Fauchet had arrived as minister from France, having with 
him two associates, or counsellors, of consular rank. The French 
government requested the recall of Mr. G. Morris, who had taken 
no pains to conceal his disapprobation of the revolutionary pro- 
ceedings. This was complied with, and Mr. Monroe, to whom no 
such objection could be made, was his successor. 

In August, 1794, the whisky rebellion had taken so serious a 
character in Pennsylvania, that an army was formed, composed 
of volunteers from that state, and detachments of militia from 
New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. The Governor (Mifflin) 
exerted himself very honorably on this occasion ; and took com- 
mand of the troops of his state. The Governor of New Jersey 
commanded the troops of that state. Those of Maryland and 
Virginia, as well as the others, were under command of General 
Henry Lee, then Governor of Virginia. When these troops had 
assembled at two respective places of encampment, Washington 
visited them, and directed Hamilton to accompany them to the 
West. The insurgents did not venture to meet this force ; and 
the rebellion ceased without conflict. Two individuals were tried 
and convicted, and afterwards pardoned. No further opposition 
was then made to the excise law. It is supposed that this rebel- 
lion was instigated by some men of intelligence and influence ; 
but there is no such certainty of (his as would justify the mention 
of names. 

During this year the democratic societies, or Jacobin Clubs, 
had extended themselves over the whole country, and took a most 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 93 

active and offensive part against the administration. They as- 
sumed that "the people" had the right to dictate to the govern- 
ment the measures to be pursued ; and that they were " the people." 
These societies were attacked in various ways from the press and 
otherwise ; sometimes by severe reproach, and sometimes by satire. 
They gradually became odious, and disappeared. 

In 1794 the celebrated Talleyrand was in the United States. 
He had been required to leave England. In July and August he 
was in Boston. His personal appearance was as remarkable as 
his character. His height was above middle stature, hair light, 
complexion sallow, eyes blue ; mouth wide and far from hand- 
some. His body was large, and protuberant in front, his lower 
limbs remarkably small and his feet deformed. He declined 
speaking English, whether he could, or not. He may have been 
about forty years of age. The expression of his face was tran- 
quil, and his manner that of a cool observer. Little is known of 
what he did observe, except from a small publication which he 
made on his return to France.* No man lives who has seen a 
greater variety of fortune. The world would be his debtor, if he 
should bestow upon it his knowledge of the secret springs of 
political events. This is not to be expected. He will probably 
withdraw with little solicitude as to what is said, or done, believed 
or discredited, after he is gone.f 

At the close of the year, 1794, General Knox resigned his 

* It is entitled, Memoir concerning the Commercial Relations of the United 
States and England; by citizen Talleyrand, read at the National Institute; 15 Mes- 
sidor year V. 

f While in this country on a visit to the city of New York, Talleyrand frequently 
dined at the table of a lady, but lately deceased. She described him as having 
been lame, possessing an intelligent countenance, with long light hair, parted in the 
centre of his forehead, and a very expressive eye. He would sometimes, during 
dinner, rest both of his elbows on the table, supporting his face between his hands, 
and carry on a conversation with his mouth so full that he could scarcely articulate. 
She also said, that he would oftentimes cut up all the meat on his plate into small 
pieces, press piece after piece upon his Jink until the prongs were full, then thrust 
it into his mouth, and closing his teeth, pull at the fork until it left every piece in 
his capacious jaws. 



94 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

place as Secretary at War, and came to Boston. His successor 
was Timothy Pickering, who was at that time Postmaster General. 
When Hamilton returned from the western expedition towards the 
close of the year, he gave notice that he should resign on the 31st 
of January following. His successor was Oliver Wolcott. 

The last important public act of Hamilton, and perhaps not 
inferior to any one, was a report on the means of sustaining the 
public credit, embracing a comprehensive view of the system 
which he had pursued. The unexpected reduction of the public 
debt* is entirely the consequence of Hamilton's measures. He 
may safely rest his fame, as a statesman, on his labor and success 
in placing the public credit, so essential in war and in peace, on 
a firm foundation. It is perfectly in keeping, that anti-federal 
rulers should assume to have w T on the plumes which they found 
in the seats of their predecessors, and should wear them with the 
insolence, which is the privilege of plunderers. 



LETTER XVI. 

March 11, 1833. 

Mr. Jay arrived in England in June, 1794. In November a 
treaty was signed. It arrived in the United States on the 7th of 
March following. The President, to prevent the pre-occupation of 
the public mind, did not allow its provisions to be known by any 
person but Mr. Randolph. Yet within two days, a series of essays 
was commenced in a newspaper in Philadelphia, condemning the 
treaty in the most opprobrious terms. The treaty had not been 
published in England ; and no copy had been received by the 
British minister. The President was astonished at the publication, 
and had no suspicion of the channel through which it occurred. 

* This refers to the reduction of the public debt under Andrew Jackson. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 95 

The Senate was convened on the 9th of June. Pending the dis- 
cussion in the Senate, one of the opposition members, Mr. Mason, 
of Virginia, took a copy and caused it to be published in a Phila- 
delphia paper. The whole country was immediately inflamed. 
Not only the opposition, but a large portion of those who had 
supported the administration, were against the ratification. The 
former now attacked the President personally, through the public 
papers. They denied to him all qualifications of a statesman, or 
even of a soldier. They charged him with being the tool of 
England, and with having fraudulently drawn money from the 
treasury. Addresses were sent in from nearly all the seaports, and 
from many interior towns, stating the reasons why the treaty should 
not be ratified. In Boston, at a town-meeting, there was but one 
man who raised his voice in favor of it. But the chamber of 
commerce, composed of all the respectable merchants, sent, almost 
unanimously, their address of approbation. 

Amidst all this ferment Washington stood as firm and undis- 
turbed as he had ever done, relying on the consciousness of per- 
forming his duty, with all the intelligence which could apply to the 
subject. His letter to the Selectmen of Boston, is worth trans- 
cribing, to show the serenity of a great and good mind, under as 
trying circumstances as can occur to any man. 

United States, 28th July, 1795. 
Gentlemen : 

In every act of my administration, I have sought the happiness 
of my fellow-citizens. My system, for the attainment of this 
object, has been, to overlook all personal, local, and partial con- 
siderations ; to contemplate the United States as one great whole ; 
to confide, that sudden impressions, when erroneous, would yield 
to candid reflection ; and to consult only the permanent, and sub- 
stantial interests of our country. Nor have I departed from this 
line of conduct, on the occasion which has produced the resolutions 
contained in your letter of the 13th inst. 

Without a predilection for my own judgment, I have weighed, 



96 t 1MI LIAR L v. v I r. us 

with attention} everv argument which has at any time boon brought 
into view. Bui the constitution is the guide which I never can 
abandon. It has assigned to the President the power of making 
treaties, with the advice and consent of the Senate. It was 
doubtless supposed, that these two branches would combine, 
without passion, and with the besl means of information, those 
acts and principles on which the success of our foreign relations 

will alwavs depend ; that they OUght not to substitute, for their 

own convictions, the opinions of others; or to seek truth through 
an\ channel but that of a temperate and weU informed investigation. 

Under this persuasion I have resolved on the manner of exe- 
cuting the duty before me. To the high responsibility attached 
to it. I freely submit; and you. gentlemen, are at liberty to make 
these sentiments known, as the grounds of my procedure. While 
I feel the most lively gratitude tor the many instances of approba- 
tion from my country, I can no otherwise deserve it than b_\ 
obeying the dictates of my conscience. 

With due respect, I am, Gentlemen, Your Ob't. 

Geo, Washing row, 

The treaty was ratified on the 24th o( June, b\ precisely the 

constitutional majority, (two-thirds,) after an investigation contin- 
ued from the 9th of the same month. 

\ he very time when these addresses were pouring upon the 
President from all quarters, an incident occurred of deep tnt< 
to him, to his Secretary Mr, Randolph, and to the whole country. 
It also diselosed the character of French diplomacy, under the new 
republic, in a very unexpected manner. 'The unfortunate French 
nation had voted down the only rational support of public and 
private morals. They had raised a deity, whom they called 
Reason, and to whom they rendered their worship. With such 
Cfeed, worship, and their national enthusiasm, they had become a 
terrible people to the civilised world. They were so thought ot 
by the considerate people of the United States. But not by the op- 
position to Washington, and his measures. Clearly, not by Mr. 



ON PUBLIC C II ARACTKRS. 97 

Jefferson. He, on the contrary, beheld in the success of French 
power, diplomatic and martial, the overthrow of "monarchists, 
Anglomcn, and federalism;" the downfall of England, and flu- 
fruition of all the blessings, which he and his associates had to 
bestow OD liis country, as soon as the opportunity should arrive. 



L E T T E R XVII. 

Ma urn 17, 1833. 

Mr. Fauchet's instructions and authority appear to have been 
much of the same import with those of Genet, but he was much 
more of a diplomatist. In October he framed a dispatch, giving 
his views of the state of the country, and of parties, and an ac- 
count of his intercourse with the friends of Prance in the United 
States. His communication was sent by the Jean Bart, a French 
privateer, which was captured by a British frigate. As the frigate's 
boat approached the privateer, Fauchet's dispatches were thrown 
overboard. There was an English captain on board the privateer, 
whose ship the privateer had taken. This captain followed the 
dispatches, (supposing them to be his own ship's papers,) seized 
them, and kept afloat till the; frigate's boat came to him. These 
were sent to Mr. Hammond, British minister at Philadelphia, and 
by him delivered to Mr. Wolcott, who carried them to the Presi- 
dent as soon as he returned from Mount Vernon, the 11th of 
August. Mr. Wolcott had received them the 28th of July. 

Every one who remembers anything of the political events of 
that day, cannot have forgotten "the precious confessions" of 
Edmund Randolph, then Secretary of State. Whether Fauchet 
told the truth or not, this is his language: "Two or three days 
before the proclamation" (of the President on the western insur- 
rection) "was published, and of course before the cabinet had 
9 



>»S r \ m I i h i; i | r r r i;s 

oKed on its nuuMuvs, the Seoretar) of State I'jim' torn) house 
\ll his oounte nance was grief. He requested of me a private 
conversation, 1; is .ill over, he said to me . .1 oivil war is about 
wage our unhappy country. Pour men b) their talents, their 
influence, and theii energy, ma^ save it. But, debtors ol English 
merchants, the) will be deprived of their liberty it' the) take the 
smallest step, Could you lend (hem instantaneously funds suffi- 
cient to shelter them from E&nglish prosecution ' rhis inquir) 

wished me much. It was impossible for me to make a satis- 
factory answer. You kiunv m\ want of power .unl deficiency in 
pecuniar) humus." *• rims with some thousands of dollars the 
Republic could have deoided on civil war or peace, rims 

s " u \Vha< will lu v the old age of this government, if i 

, : . \ i lee IV.' 

i tlu- dispatches of Panchet were made known to tin- 
President, he was still deliberating on the ratification of the treaty, 
Ine i' mses of Mr, Randolph's determined opposition, wad of the 
advice which Randolph had so often given in his official station, 
were now full) disclosed On the I'.ih tin- President heh 
council with his (lire. - s, (Pickering, Wolootl and Ran- 

dolph,) on tin- ratification, probably to - himself] among 

other things, the manifestation ot Mr. Randolph's views, He 
continued to M R olph with Ins usual ^courtesy, while 

the dispatches were in the hands of the trans' id on the 

and tS'h ■,. ■■\.. \i- Randolph at his tabic-. On the 

1 9th, while the President w is conversing with Mr, Piekering'and 
Mi Woleott, Randolph came in. The President rose and pre- 
sented to him the intercepted letter, and requested him to explain 
it, u' In- could, Pen is confusion, the President proposed 

to him to step into another room and consider ot'u. He presently 
returned, and said he would make his explanation in writing, 
s r he resign M Randolph published a defence, after 

following Mr, Pauchet to New] I Is whither 

Pauchet had embark for Prance. Mr, Randolph reached 



on r u u 1. 1 c c ii a it A C i i II • 



!>!> 



Newport on the 31st) Imi ffliled in olii.nn a countervailing cei 
tificate. I' . 1 1 1 1 1 1 * i promised it, Imi sailed withoul giving it, In 
the midst of .ill these vexations the Presidenl ratified the treaty 
<>M the i nil of August, 

'I'lic general sentimenl al the time was, thai l\ 1 1 . Randolph had 
abused the confidence which the Presidenl placed in him, and 
thai In" party devotion had subjected him to severe reproach. 
To whal < ■ \ i < • 1 1 1 Mi. Randolph was culpable, ii is tiol material 
io inquire. Willi Mr. Randolph, as an individual, there is no 
intention to interfere, Imi only to show whal the state oi the 
countn was, and whal the influence oi French feeling was. 

Mi. Randolph (a1 Richmond) in the autumn of L796 had re 
turned to the practice of the law. He was obviously under 
cloud, llis appearance was thai <>i ;> dejected being. Mr. 
Randolph was a man of large person, with ;i heavy, grave face, 
Mis reputation, as :i lawyer, was very respectable. Ai this day, 
candor compels us to say, Mr. Randolph had no treasonable views 
with regard loins own country, ll<' may have been so misled liy 
i hr < ■ \ 1 1 1 < ■ 1 1 1 < ■ 1 1 1 of i lie times, as to have justified to himself anything 
thai would tend to the injury of England, and to the benefll oi 
France. Imi how far he could justify Ins acts on this ground, 
while In 1 liilil the station oi Secretary, and had ilm confidence oi 
the President, is quite another consideration, 

Timothy Pickering, who was ;ii this time Secretary of W;ir, 
was charged with the duties of Secretary of State mi Mr. Ran 
dolph s resignation, and appointed to this office in December 
following. In January following, James McHenry was appointed 
io (in- office which Mr. Pickering bad left, Between the month 
of Aii g ii si ;nnl the end of the year, several events occurred, which 
will merely be mentioned to keep up the connection with those 
more interesting. 

Favorable treaties had been made with the Indians in the wesl 
and mi the south; oi the latter we have lately heard something m 
connection with the movements in Georgia, The Algerines had 
taken our vessels, and held many Americans ai slaves. A treaty 



100 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

was made with them, as the United States had no maritime force 
to prevent their aggressions. There had been indications, that 
some arrangement might be made with Spain concerning the dis- 
puted rights on the Mississippi, and on the navigation of that river. 
William Short, of Virginia, was minister resident in Spain, and 
was succeeded the next summer by a gentleman of South Carolina, 
Thomas Pinckney, usually called Governor Pinckney, to distin- 
guish him from Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and his brother 
Thomas, then minister at London.* Governor Pinckney was not 
of the family of Charles and Thomas, unless by some remote 
relation, and was a very different character from either of them. 
There was a fourth gentleman (William) of this name, of much 
celebrity, and especially in the profession of the law. He was 
not of the Pinckney families of South Carolina. He was of Mary- 
land, and his name was written Pinkney. f The two brothers, in 

* This is an error. Thomas Pinckney, the brother of Charles C. Pinckney, and 
minister at London at the time Mr. Jay was sent there as Envoy Extraordinary, 
was, while at London, commissioned as Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Spain, 
and succeeded William Short. This gentleman negotiated the treaty of 1795, with 
Spain, and not Governor Pinckney, whose name was Charles, for some time a Sena- 
tor from South Carolina, and was sent subsequently to Spain. 

j" As there may not be occasion to mention Mr. William Pinkney again, this 
opportunity is taken, to record an anecdote illustrative of his singular habits and 
peculiarities. He was a great dandy in his dress, but a very able advocate and 
distinguished lawyer. He was often retained from distant states for important causes. 
This occurred at Boston, when Judge Parsons was Chief Justice of Massachusetts. 
On a certain day, the cause was called up in the Supreme Court for argument, 
but Mr. Pinkney did not answer to his name. The Court were displeased, and 
became impatient, when, after some delay, the gentleman made his appearance. 
He was dressed in a green riding coat, Wellington boots, somewhat splashed with 
mud, with white kid gloves, and carried a light whip in his hand. He addressed 
the Court: ''1 am sorry to have kept the Court waiting I" "The Courtarealso sorry, 
Mr. Pinkney," replied the Chief Justice somewhat sharply. Nettled at this retort, 
Mr. Pinkney stated, that he had that morning started upon a ride, having forgotten 
this cause, but on its recurring to his mind, when some miles distant from the city, 
he had hastened back with all speed. Mr. Pinkney appeared lor the defendants- 
The argument was opened for the plaintiffs, and Mr. Pinkney sat listlessly whip- 
ping his boot with his riding eane, apparently bestowing but little attention upon 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 101 

pursuance of their father's positive direction by will, received 
the best education, and were at Westminster School in England 
and at Oxford ; and were admitted to the bar in London. Both 
of them served in the war of the revolution ; and both of them 
were among the most honorable and excellent of the land. They 
were afterwards candidates for the presidency. Thomas was a 
man of about six feet in stature, of well formed, thin person, of 
tranquil, modest appearance, and had the reputation of being a 
person of high intellectual cultivation, and was certainly of most 
amiable deportment. Being one day on the edge of the cliff, 
which overlooks the falls of the Mohawk river, he employed him- 
self in loosening some large stones to roll down the precipice. 
As they descended, he repeated lines from the Latin and Greek 
poets which are descriptive of the noise made by the rolling, rapid 
descent of a stone. 

Charles, the elder brother, made a visit to the east in 1804, 
and passed the summer at Boston and in its vicinity. He was of 
middle stature, and rather a full person compared with his brother. 
He was quite bald on the top of his head ; his hair was short and 
gray at the sides. His countenance was grave, but the expression 
was intelligent and amiable ; his manners calm and dignified. He 
was one of those who carry, in their appearance, the certificate of 
having always been gentlemen. He w T ore boots and spurs con- 
stantly, and was said to wear them even on ship board. Thomas, 

the efforts of his opponent At last taking of)" one glove, he drew a rich card- 
case from Ins pocket, extracted a card, and using the top of his hat in lieu of the 
desk before him, made a few memoranda, as the argument proceeded, with :i pen- 
cil. These were his only notes. His turn soon came, when he arose, and made 
one of those beautiful arguments which had secured him his fame, exhibiting rare 
research, and great learning. One of the gentlemen opposed to him, being con- 
vinced that no man was capable of such an effort without great preparation, deter- 
mined to ascertain whether Mr. Pinkney had spoken, as he endeavored to make it 
appear, withoul any previous study. He asked Mr. Pinkney's servant, a colored 
man brought from Baltimore, where his master had been the night previous. — 
" Massa," said the boy, " was at home and sat up all night a studying.'' This ex- 
plained the mystery. 

9* 



102 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

though not joined in the commission, was Mr. Jay's assistant and 
counsellor in the negotiation at London in 1794. Of Charles, 
there will be occasion to speak again. He was probably about 
sixty years of age in 1804. 



LETTER XVIII. 

March 20, J833. 

The year 1796 was one of perplexing embarrassment to the 
government, from the manner in which England and France con- 
ducted their war. It was made still more so by Mr. Adet, who 
came over in June, 1795, as successor of Fauchet. This gentleman 
was incessantly complaining of infractions of the treaty with 
France, and of the violation of neutrality. He lost no oppor- 
tunity of reminding the Americans of their debt of gratitude to 
France, though if the true motives of the French in giving their 
aid were known, it would probably deduct essentially from the 
moral obligation, however important the acts done may have been. 
When Mr. Monroe went to France he had a most brotherly recep- 
tion ; tears in every eye ; all which he duly reciprocated. He 
carried with him the American flag to present to the National 
Assembly; by what authority this was done, does not appear. 
Mr. Adet brought out a French flag, to return the compliment. 
New Year's day was appointed for the presentation of this flag to 
the President. Among other things, Mr. Adet said, " I am con- 
vinced that every citizen will receive, with a pleasing emotion, 
this flag, elsewhere the terror of the enemies of liberty; here, the 
certain pledge of faithful friendship ; — especially when we recol- 
lect, that it guides to combat men who have shared their toils, and 
who were prepared for liberty, by aiding them to acquire their own." 
This speech drew from Washington that memorable reply, uttered 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 103 

with the full dignity of the man, and of the office which he filled: 
"Born, sir, in a land of liberty; having early learned its value; 
having engaged in a perilous conflict to defend it ; having, in a 
word, devoted the best years of my life to secure its permanent 
establishment in my country ; my anxious recollections, my sym- 
pathetic feelings, and my best wishes are irresistibly excited, 
whensoever in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the 
banners of freedom." 

He finished with saying, — "I rejoice that liberty, which you 
have so long embraced with enthusiasm, now finds an asylum in 
the bosom of a regularly organized government." 

The flag so presented, and so accepted, was deposited in the 
" archives," as like things are, and not in view, as the French 
minister intended it should be. On the 9th of the same month he 
wrote a letter of complaint to the Secretary of State, that the flag 
had been so shut up; and demanded that it should be exalted and 
displayed in the House of Representatives; and said, that the dis- 
posal made of it would be looked upon by the Republic as a mark 
of contempt or indifference." But he had, as he had often 
occasion to know, a sturdy old Roman to deal with in Timothy 
Pickering, and the flag remained where it was. 

Soon after Mr. Adet complained of the impressment of American 
seamen by the British, as a wrong done to France ; and that the 
United States were thereby voluntarily strengthening the enemies 
of the Republic, and endangering the liberties of his country. 
And again, happening to see an almanac, in which the order of 
foreign rank, therein published, placed England and Spain before 
the Republic, he sent a formal letter demanding a correction of 
this injustice, or a disavowal of it, by the executive. Mr. Pick- 
ering answered, that Americans printed almanacs as they pleased, 
and that the government had nothing to do with it ; but added, for 
his consolation, that there was an almanac printed in Boston, in 
which the Republic was ranked first. 

Such trifles show the temper of the times ; but there are other 
things of far different import. The controversies about armed 



104 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

vessels, public and private, within the waters of the United States, 
both English and French, kept the cabinet in constant agitation. 
Besides these occurrences, French privateers, which had the right 
by treaty to come in, waylaid and captured American vessels, in 
some instances, within two hours after pilots had left them, and 
carried them to the West Indies for consular condemnation. Con- 
troversies arose, also, on the construction to be given to shipments 
of merchandise, by the law of nations, and by the existing trea- 
ties, which were closely argued in diplomatic intercourse with the 
French minister. He was sustained throughout, by the French 
Americans, who considered all he said and did to be right, and 
that all their own government did was entirely British, and intend- 
ed to be so. But impartial history will show, that never did any 
executive government struggle harder, and with good temper too, 
to adhere to the principles of strict neutrality, and to keep out of 
the war w T hich was overwhelming Europe. As to the complaints 
made by the French minister, and the manner in which they were 
answered, these may be found (among public documents accom- 
panying a message to Congress, January 17, 1797) in the very 
able letter of the Secretary of State to Mr. Pinckney, at that time 
minister to France. 

When the treaty w T ith Great Britain took effect, by the inter- 
change of ratifications, the whole country rung with renewed 
clamor, in which Washington's public services were remembered 
only as matters of reproach. At the session of Congress which 
commenced December, 1795, and continued into the summer of 
1796, Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts, moved a general 
proposition for making the laws, necessary for carrying the trea- 
ties into effect made with Algiers, the Indians, Spain, and Great 
Britain. The latter was soon separated from all the others, and 
the most ardent and most eloquent, and at the same time, most 
acrimonious debate ensued, ever known in the House of Repre- 
sentatives. Mr. Livingston, then of New York, and afterwards 
minister to France, began by moving, that the President should be 
called on for all the papers relating to the negotiation of the treaty. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 105 

This motion was vehemently debated, and, after some days, 
carried by a majority of fifty-seven to thirty-five. The President 
answered, with his accustomed coolness and dignity, stating his 
reasons why the House of Representatives, which has no part in 
the treaty-making power, cannot be constitutionally entitled to the 
papers called for; and concluded with saying, "a just regard to 
the constitution, and to the duties of my office, under all the cir- 
cumstances of this case, forbid a compliance with your request." 
This refusal was received with an indignation which the majority 
were at no pains to conceal. The same spirit was widely dis- 
seminated through the country, and everybody felt wise enough 
to settle the constitutional question, whether the President was 
right or wrong, in this refusal. 

Most fortunately for the United States, as afterwards appeared 
from the operation of the treaty, public opinion had undergone an 
important change. Popular meetings were again held, and though 
many of the provisions of the treaty were thought to be objection- 
able, and though omissions were thought to be apparent, yet it 
could not be doubted that a majority, composed of the most 
respectable and intelligent citizens, were in favor of carrying the 
treaty into effect, with entire good faith. It is worthy of remark 
that Mr. Fox, in the British Parliament, complained that the treaty 
was very unfavorable to England. It is known, from Mr. Jay's, 
and from Mr. Pinckney's communications, that the treaty was as 
favorable to this country, as could have been obtained. 

The popular sentiment was felt in the House of Representatives, 
and probably had an important influence on the final result. 
The debate necessarily took the widest range. Europe — the bel- 
ligerents — the character of the war — our condition — inevitable 
consequences — dissension among the branches of the government 
— popular enthusiasm — interest — duty — honor — inflamed party- 
spirit — war — means wholly inadequate — confusion and anarchy — 
all figure in this memorable debate, and with the full glow of 
party excitement, which seemed to have been gathering from the 
first institution of the government, to storm forth on this occasion. 



106 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

All this may be seen in the mere printed skeleton of debate, which 
is silent as to tones, looks, and gestures. In a former page, the 
part which Mr. Ames took, on this occasion, has been noticed. 
Notwithstanding the state of his health, his speech comprises 
thirty-five closely printed octavo pages in Dr. Kirkland's compila- 
tion. This extract will give some idea of the character of the 
discussion: "Our understandings have been addressed, it is true, 
and with ability and effect ; but, I demand, has any corner of the 
heart been left unexplored ? It has been ransacked to find aux- 
iliary arguments; and when that failed, to awaken the sensibility 
that would require none. Every prejudice and feeling has been 
summoned to listen to some peculiar style of address; and yet we 
seem to consider a doubt as an affront, that we are strangers to 
any influence but that of unbiassed reason." 

In committee of. the whole, the question on making laws to 
carry the treaty into effect, rested on the casting vote of the chair- 
man. The final question in the House was carried by a majority 
of three only, fifty-one to forty-eight. It may gratify curiosity to 
mention some of the individuals who were then members of this 
branch of the legislature. Among those who voted, that it was 
expedient to make laws for carrying the treaty into effect, were, 
Fisher Ames, Theophilus Bradbury, Nicholas Gilman, Roger 
Griswold, R. G. Harper, James Hillhouse, Theodore Sedgwick, 
Jeremiah Smith, William Smith. Among those who voted in the 
negative were, Abraham Baldwin, Thomas Blount, Thomas Clai- 
borne, Henry Dearborn, Albert Gallatin, William B. Giles, Wade 
Hampton, Edward Livingston, Nathaniel Macon, James Madison, 
Joseph B. Varnum. In all, fifty-one for, forty-eight against the 
measure. 

With a view to make known to France the true state of the 
country, and to remove all erroneous impressions, the President 
contemplated a special mission thither. He had the further in- 
ducement, that he was not satisfied with the ministry of Mr. Mon- 
roe. But finding that he was not authorized, as he considered, 
to create an office, without the assent of the Senate, but only to 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 107 

fill vacancies in an existing office, the design was relinquished. 
Mr. Monroe was recalled, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was 
appointed in September, 1796. Mr. Monroe took offence at be- 
ing displaced, came home, and published a volume of justifica- 
tion, which probably aided him in attaining to the presidency. He 
therein assumes to say, that if a rupture should happen with 
France, it would not be occasioned by the misconduct of France, 
but by Washington's policy, which Monroe calls " short-sighted 
and bad." 



LETTER XIX. 

March 22, 1833. 

Soon after the adjournment of Congress, (June 1, 1796,) the 
President engaged himself in attempting the liberation of Lafay- 
ette. It will be remembered, that Lafayette, in the early part of 
the revolution, considering himself unsafe in France, retired from 
it, intending to find safety on neutral ground ; and that he was 
taken by an Austrian patrol, and detained in a dungeon several 
years, first in the Prussian dominions, and afterwards within those 
of Austria. The President directed Mr. Pinckney, minister in 
London, to speak to the ministers from Prussia and Austria, con- 
cerning the interest felt by him in the fate of Lafayette. Finding 
that the object of his compassion had been transferred to the Em- 
peror of Austria, he wrote a letter to him on the subject. What 
effect this measure had, does not appear. In 1796, Dr. Bollman 
was in this country. He had made a gallant attempt to free La- 
fayette, together with a young gentleman of South Carolina, 
(since known as Colonel Huger,) which was nearly successful. 
Bollman was a German; he had nothing in his common deport- 
ment, of the zeal and enterprise which such an attempt would 



108 t vmu.i u; LETTERS 

imply. He was a tranquil, quiet gentleman ; with the air,never- 
theless, of a verj determined man. In the same year, the pre- 
sent Lord Lyndhurst was in the United States, by the name of 
Copley. He was a tranquil, quiet gentleman, also. He had the 
reputation of being a good scholar, but he gave do indication, at 
thai time, that he was thereafter to be Lord Chancellor, IK' was 
rather above common stature- -of thin person, light complexion, 
and targe blue eyes; and of very courteous manners. He was 

horn in Boston, and was carried to England when about two vears 

old, before the revolution. He made many friends here, and in 

other places at the South; and was nuieh esteemed. 

Towards the elose of the year, the third election of president 
ensraered the national attention. Washington was earnestly soli- 
cited to be a candidate again. All who had opposed his admin- 
istration, were still more earnest that he should not. Every mea- 
sure that party feeling and malice could resort to, was taken to 
render him odious. It is painful to reeur to an) ot' these measures, 

out the character of the times cannot be understood without doing 
it. 

mas Paine, an Englishman by birth, came to this country 

in 177 I, and was here during the war. He was a powerful writer 

for the popular eve. A pamphlet called " Common Sense," gave 
him some celebrity, The legislature of Pennsylvania voted him 
K) for this production. He was secretary to the committee of 
foreign affairs; but was dismissed for misconduct. In 17S7 be 
went to Prance, and thence to England, where he wrote "The 

Rights o( Man,"' in answer to luuke's Reflections on the Kreneh 

Revolution; for which he was indicted, but escaped to France. 
lb- was a member of the convention which voted for the death of 

the king. He voted tor banishment. In 17^;> he wrote M 

in derision of Christianity ; and in the same year, 
having fallen under the displeasure o( the mlers in Prance, he 
was imprisoned ; and SO continued to be, till the fall of Robes- 
pierre, in I 795, He returned to the United States, and died near 
the city of New York, in 1809, at the age of seventy-three. His 



(IN I' II II I. I C II A II A CT I l' 



100 



line ili.ir.nlri i n .1 ^ 1)8 minimi limn In \\ 1 1 1 1 n • ■ \ llm 

juiic ul 1lrl.1111.il mil 1 11 1 nl.ilcil in I /'•/. w .1 .1 lilli'i <>l I '.ii 1 1 < 
.11 It lie- id In ( I (MUM ,il Washington, though iml 1 11! r mini foj In py(i 

Inii through ii"' press ii h dated at Parii, Jul] 10, i r06 Thi 

li'iiii I >i n | .1 mi H I'l.inklin li.irlir, ciiiiui ui iin " vurorn, consi 
derod sufneienth valuable to be protected l>\ .1 certificate ol 
copj right I'liun this letter one may lenrn, what sorl ol opia 

inn:: mhiic "I QUI i mi nl i \ limn , .mil f | > < < 1 . 1 1 1 \ \li .1 c Hi ■ 1 1 1 1] i , limn 

considered ii proper to circulate. In relation to the funding i yi 
ii'in, Paine says "The < 'Imi ol the army became the patron oi 
fraud ' "JUcvntod to the chair ol i Im presidency, yon assumed the 
nmiii ui everything to yourself, ■< < << I the natural Ingratitude ol youi 
constitution begun to nppoai You commenced youi presidential 
Cfircei l>\ encouraging, nnd swallowing, the grossest adulation 

and travelled America, i one end i<> the other, to put yourself 

mi the w:i\ "i receiving it." Speaking of John Adams and John 
Jay, (pages n and 12,) Paine says,"these are ili<' disguised 
traitors, who oall themselves federalists John Adams Is one ot 
those men who never contemplated iim origin of government, 01 

comprehended anything <>i the nature <>i first i riples " In 

page ••'»: "IMi. Washington Is known to have no friendships, and 
in be incapable <>i forming .m^ lm can serveoi desert ;i cause 
or b man, with cons titutional indifference." In page 63: " \ 
i<» you, sir, treacherous in private friendship, (for so you have 
been to me, and thai in the day of danger,)" .nul a hypocrite in 
public life, the world will be puzzled to decide, whether you are 
an apostate, or an impostor; whethei you have abandoned good 
principles, or whether you ever had any." Ii is nol to be sup 
posed that Mr, Jefferson (who was one of Rache's patrons, ai 
appears from his recommendation to Mi. Madison, in have Bache's 
papei supported, see vol. in., p, 387) was ignorant oJ this na 
tional insult, offered to Washington by Thomas Paine. Vh 
among the earliest acts of power, after Mr. Jcflerson arrived at 



* Paine applied to Waul , I liii :•. i out ol RuU pi lungeoi 

whioh w in dei ■im. -I I mi 1 1 ii- •■ I, thai Paine liad made I w II n Vn ru Ii i itizon 

10 



HO FAMILIAR 1 E I' I E lis 

j . v» - s un\i j i c< pass 

N - Wuhin a fortnight 
Mr. ten his >ath of office, he wrote to Paine 

•• rhe return as from th< (renirj 

vi w . ■ \ \ and a r uaoe, 

. w HI, I 

belies .-. v Bu s v d minute 

J M. IV W v.' . 

Co ?ss, to \i iml i 
Hi - v - u . w Qich will vi 

\ v . ': ' . re his 

J scpress 
-. 5 - Mr. Dawson is 

x ■ j 

\ j such s 

$ you will find - f y to 

s worth} s, 

s ■ ' 

j. That you i ■ - 

s, is 
- 

s, Was jtonwas 
in the French \i 

it 

- w wai 

s by Was 

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N P II BLIC C II A II A CT K l: : HI 

bj Freneau, •> clerk in Mr. Jefferson's office, Imi more ei ptjciall\ 
the Aurora, edited by Bache, d;nly came forth teeming with nhui e 
and invective 

The French ministei seems to have thoughl ii his official duly 
to write n letter i<> the Secretary of State, under date oi Lhe 17th 
October, L 796, containing the mosl explicil charges oi breach oi 
neutrality; and adds, al the close "thai he will cause this note 
in be printed, in order '<> make publicly known the motives which, 
,ii the present juncture, influenced the French Republic. This 
note \\;i accordingly printed in :i Philadelphia paper, and came 
imiii ;is Mum as 'In' Secretary could have read the original. 



i. i; T T E i: X X . 

Maim i. ' , 

( >n the L5th <>i November, L796, the French minister wrote 
another Letter, which, though in diplomatic form, and addressed 
to ili«' Secretary, be caused i<> be published ;ii the same time, that 
ii might have the effect intended on the public mind; and which 
might, also, be an impressive monition to the successoi of (he 
President. Mr. Add calls the wise measure <>l die administration 
in L793 " die in- id inn ■ proclamation" (of neutrality). Tin:, letter 
ui die L5th <>l November is so descriptive of the fraterni ation of 
Republican France, of which Europe was destined i<» feel die lull 
effect, while die Republic continued, and while die Emperoi 
reigned, thai some extracts from ii may be acceptablei "The 
undersigned minister plenipotentiary, moreover declares, thai die 
Executive Directory regards the treaty of commerce, concluded 
widi Greal Britain, as ;i violation of die treaty made with France 
in I77S, and equivalent to ;i treaty of alliance with Greal Britain; 
:iikI that, justly offended ;ii die conduct which die American 



112 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

government has held in this case, they have given him orders to 
suspend, from this moment, his ministerial functions with the 
Federal Government." 

"What joy did not the American flag inspire when it waved 
unfurled in the French Senate. Tender tears trickled from each 
eye ; every one looked at it with amazement. There, said they/is 
the symbol of the independence of our American brethren! Be- 
hold there, the pledge of their liberty. May victory always attend 
it. May it lead to glory none but a free and happy people ! These 
words, which escaped from a thousand mouths, were the expres- 
sion of the sentiments of the whole nation. Was not an American 
to each Frenchman, another Frenchman ? He was more — he was 
a friend ; and that sacred name, amidst civil dissensions, was 
equally respected by all. 

"Alas ! time has not yet demolished the fortifications with which 
the English roughened this country; nor those the Americans 
raised for their defence; their half rounded summits still appear 
in every quarter, amidst plains, on the tops of mountains. The 
traveller need not search for the ditch, which served to encompass 
them ; it is still open under his feet. Scattered ruins of houses 
laid waste, which the fire had partly respected, in order to leave 
monuments of British fury, are still to be found. Men still exist, 
who can say, here a ferocious Englishman slaughtered my father; 
there my wife tore her bleeding daughter from the hands of an 
unbridled Englishman. Alas! the soldiers who fell under the 
sword of the Britons, are not yet reduced to dust : the laborer, in 
turning up his field, still draws from the bosom of the earth their 
whitened bones ; while the ploughman, with tears and gratitude, 
still recollects that his fields, now covered with rich harvests, 
have been moistened with French blood, while every thing around 
the inhabitants of this country animates them to speak of the 
tyranny of Great Britain and of the generosity of Frenchmen ; 
when England has declared a war of death to that nation, to 
avenge herself for its having cemented, with its blood, the inde- 
pendence of the United States. It was at this moment, their 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. H3 

government made a treaty of amity with their ancient tyrant, the 
implacable enemy of their ancient ally. 0! Americans, covered 
with noble scars! 0! you who have so often flown to death and 
to victory, with French soldiers ! You, who know those generous 
sentiments which distinguished the true warrior : whose hearts 
have always vibrated with those of your companions in arms ! 
Consult them to-day to know what they experience; recollect at 
the same time, that if magnanimous souls, with liveliness, resent 
an affront, they also know how to forget one. Let your govern- 
ment return to itself, and you will still find in Frenchmen faithful 
friends, and generous allies. 

" Done at Philadelphia, the 25th Brumaire, 5th year of the 
French Republic, one and indivisible, (15th November, 1796, 0. 
S.) P. A. Adet." 

This eloquent appeal, appearing as it did, and when it did, 
was undoubtedly intended as a French invitation to American 
citizens, to elect Thomas Jefferson, President. It was nearly 
successful. But complete success required the lapse of four 
years more. To promote the object in view, another measure 
was adopted, namely, the publication of the queries which Wash- 
ington had proposed to his cabinet, on the eve of issuing his pro- 
clamation of neutrality, in 1793; and to which written answers 
were required. It seems to have been his practice, to obtain the 
separate and deliberate opinions of his ministers, and then to form 
his own. As the queries were entirely confidential, and as the pub- 
lication of them could not have been made by Hamilton, or Knox, 
they must have been made by, or with the assent of Jefferson, or 
Randolph. Jefferson thought proper to write to Washington to 
exculpate himself. Washington in answering him, uses, among 
others, these words : "If I had entertained any suspicion before, 
that the queries which have been published in Backers paper pro- 
ceeded from you, the assurances you have given of the contrary, 
would have removed them. . . But the truth is, I harbored 

10* 



114 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

none. I am at no loss to conjecture from what source they flowed, 
through what channel they were conveyed, nor for what purpose 
they, and similar publications, appear. 

"As you have mentioned the subject yourself, it would not be 
frank, candid, or friendly to conceal, that your conduct has been 
represented as derogating from that opinion I conceived you en- 
tertained of me ; that to your particular friends and connections 
you have described, and they have denounced me, as a person 
under a dangerous influence, and that, if I would listen more to 
some other opinions, all would be well. My answer invariably 
has been, that I had never discovered anything in the conduct of 
Mr. Jefferson, to raise suspicions in my mind of his sincerity ; 
that if he would retrace my public conduct while he was in the 
administration, abundant proofs would occur to him, that truth, 
and right decisions, were the sole objects of my pursuit ; that 
there were as many instances, within his own knowledge, of my 
having decided against, as in favor of the person evidently al- 
luded to; and moreover, that I was no believer in the infallibility 
of the politics, or measures of any man living. In short, that I 
was no party man myself, and that the first wish of my heart was, 
if parties did exist, to reconcile them. 

" To this I may add, and very truly, that until the last year or 
two, I had no conception that parties would, or even could, go 
the lengths I have been witness to ; nor did I believe, until lately, 
that it was within bounds of probability, . . hardly within 
those of possibility, — that while I was using my utmost exertions 
to establish a national character of our own, independent, as far 
as our obligations and justice would permit, of every nation on 
the earth ; and wished, by steering a steady course, to preserve 
this country from the horrors of desolating war, I should be ac- 
cused of being the enemy of one nation, and subject to the 
influence of another ; and to prove it, that every act of my admi- 
nistration would be tortured, and the grossest and most insidious 
misrepresentations of them be made, by giving one side only of a 
subject ; and that too in such exaggerated and indecent terms as 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. H5 

could scarcely be applied to a Nero .... to a notorious de- 
faulter .... or even to a common pickpocket. 

"But enough of this .... I have already gone further in the 
expression of my feelings than I intended." 

Let it not be forgotten, that though Washington seems, to some 
extent to exculpate Mr. Jefferson, yet, that the base and wicked 
slanders and criminations of which he complains, appeared in 
the newspaper edited by Mr. Jefferson's clerk, Freneau, and in 
that edited by Bache. It will be seen, hereafter, that on one 
occasion, Washington complained to Mr. Jefferson of the publica- 
tions, which appeared in Freneau's paper, and also in what man- 
ner Mr. Jefferson was pleased to treat that complaint. 



LETTER XXI. 

March 30, 1833. 

On the 7th of December, 1796, Washington met Congress for 
the last time, and commended to their attention many highly im- 
portant subjects, some of which have been attended to, and others 
neglected. He adverted, modestly, to the course which he had 
pursued in conducting the government, but did not condescend to 
notice the slanders which had been poured out against him. He 
had published his memorable Farewell Address, in the month of 
September, 1796. 

It is characteristic of Mr. Jefferson, that he makes an attempt 
to rob Washington, in some degree, of the authorship of this 
precious legacy ; and to transfer it to his friend Mr. Madison. 
There is not the slightest evidence anywhere, that Washington 
had any such regard, or respect for Mr. Madison, politically or 
individually, as to lead to the belief, that this gentleman would 
have been the selected object of confidence on this delicate and 



116 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

serious occasion. Mr. Jefferson says, — (in a letter to Judge 
Johnson, of South Carolina, vol. iv. p. 370,) "With respect to his 
farewell address, to the authorship of which, it seems, there are 
conflicting claims, I can state to you some facts. He had de- 
clined a re-election, at the end of his first term, and so far 
determined, that he had requested Mr. Madison to prepare for him 
something valedictory, to be addressed to his constituents on his 
retirement." When at the end of his second term, when his vale- 
dictory came out, Mr. Madison recognized in it several passages of 
his draught; several others, we were both satisfied, were from the 
pen of Hamilton ; and others from that of the President himself. 
These he, probably, put into the hands of Hamilton to form into 
a whole ; and hence it may all appear in Hamilton's hand-writ- 
ting, as if it were all his composition." That is, Hamilton took 
Madison's manuscript, and adopted it as his, but to appear as 
Washington's ! The truth, in this matter, is now known from the 
pen of John Jay* 

Until the close of his administration, Washington had never 
publicly noticed the "forged letters; " he then thought it proper 
to address to the Secretary of State, to be filed in his office, a 
solemn declaration that they were forged. 

On the 22d of February, 1797, the citizens of Philadelphia 
asked Washington's presence at a ball, intended as a mark of their 
respect. At that time, there was a circus, and an hotel, (known 
as O'Ellers',) on the south side of Chestnut Street, between Sixth 
and Seventh Streets. The circus was floored over for dancing, and 
otherwise suitably prepared ; and a settee, with a canopy over it, 
arranged in an elevated position for Mr. and Mrs. Washington. 
He did not confine himself to this, but moved about the circus, 
conversing freely with the company, consisting of citizens, dis- 
tinguished member of Congress, all foreign ministers, and invited 
strangers. An opening was made through the wall of the hotel, 
from the circus, and the company passed through this into the hotel 

• See Appendix. — Letter from Hon. John Jay, to the Hon. Richard Peters. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 117 

to sup.* On the 4th of March (1797) he was present when John 
Adams took the oath of office : and he appeared to be sincerely 
glad, in the manner of his congratulations to the new President, 
that the. care and responsibility of that station, were no longer his 
own. In two or three days he withdrew from Philadelphia to 
Mount Vernon, to leave it no more for the residue of his life.f 
He was sixty-five years of age the 22d of the preceding February. 
The following are recollections of Washington, derived from 
repeated opportunities of seeing him during the three last years 
of his public life. He was over six feet in stature ; of strong, 
bony, muscular frame, without fulness of covering, well-formed 
and straight. He was a man of most extraordinary physical 
strength. In his own house, his action was calm, deliberate, and 
dignified, without pretension to gracefulness, or peculiar manner, 
but merely natural, and such as one would think it should be in 
such a man. When w r alking in the street, his movement had not 
the soldierly air which might be expected. His habitual motions 
had been formed, long before he took command of the American 
armies, in the wars of the interior, and in the surveying of wild- 
erness lands, employments in which grace and elegance were 
not likely to be acquired. At the age of sixty-five, time had 
done nothing towards bending him out of his natural erectness. 
His deportment was invariably grave ; it was sobriety that stopped 
short of sadness. His presence inspired a veneration, and a feel- 
ing of awe, rarely experienced in the presence of any man. His 
mode of speaking was slow and deliberate, not as though he was 
in search of fine words, but that he might utter those only adapt- 
ed to his purpose. It was the usage for all persons in good so- 
ciety, to attend Mrs. Washington's levee every Friday evening. 
He was always present. The young ladies used to throng around 
him, and engage him in conversation. There were some of the 
well-remembered belles of that day, who imagined themselves to 

* This hotel w;iH shortly after destroyed by fire; and the circus has long 
given place to other buildings. 

f He appeared once as a grand juror and served as foreman. 



118 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

be favorites with him. As these were the only opportunities 
which they had of conversing with him, they were disposed to use 
them. One would think, that a gentleman and a gallant soldier, 
if he could ever laugh, or dress his countenance in smiles, would 
do so when surrounded by young and admiring beauties. But 
this was never so ; the countenance of Washington never softened ; 
nor changed its habitual gravity. One who had lived always in 
his family, said, that his manner in public life, and in the seclu- 
sion of most retired life, was always the same. Being asked 
whether Washington could laugh ; this person said, that this was 
a rare occurrence, but that one instance was remembered, when 
he laughed most heartily at her narration of an incident in which 
she was a party concerned; and in which he applauded her 
agency. The late General Cobb, who was long a member of his 
family during the war, (and who enjoyed a laugh as much as any 
man could,)' said, that he never saw Washington laugh, excepting 
when Dr. Thomas of Massachusetts came to dine at head-quarters. 
This gentleman had a fund of ludicrous anecdotes, and a manner 
of telling them, which relaxed even the gravity of the commander- 
in-chief. 

General Cobb also said, that the forms of proceeding at head- 
quarters were exact and precise ; orderly and punctual. At the 
appointed moment, Washington appeared at the breakfast-table. 
He expected to find all the members of his family, (Cobb, Ham- 
ilton, Humphreys, were among them,) awaiting him. He came 
dressed for the day, and brought with him the letters and dis- 
patches of the preceding day, with short memoranda of the an- 
swers to be made; also the substance of orders to be issued. 
When breakfast was over, these papers were distributed among 
his aids, to be put into form. Soon after, he mounted his horse 
to visit the troops, and expected to find, on his return before noon, 
all the papers prepared for his inspection and signature. There 
was no familiarity in his presence ; it was all sobriety and busi- 
ness. His mode of life was abstemious and temperate. He had 
a decided preference for certain sorts of food, probably from 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 119 

early associations. Throughout the war, as it was understood in 
his military family, he gave a part of every day to private prayer 
and devotion. 

While he lived in Philadelphia as President, he rose at four in 
the morning ; and the general rule of his house was, that the fires 
should be covered, and the lights extinguished at a certain hour; 
whether this was nine or ten, is not recollected. 

In the early part of his administration, great complaints were 
made by the opposition, of the aristocratic and royal demeanor of 
the President. Mr. Jefferson makes some commentaries on this 
subject, which do no credit to his head or his heart. These are 
too little to be transcribed from the works of this " great and good 
man.'''' (See vol. iv., p. 487.) Dr. Stuart, of Virginia, wrote to 
him of the dissatisfaction which prevailed on this subject in Vir- 
ginia. In the 5th vol. of Marshall, page 164, will be found an 
extract of Washington's vindication of his conduct ; and a most 
satisfactory one, and which shows the proper character of Mr. 
Jefferson's "Anas." These complaints related, in particular, to 
the manner of receiving such visitors as came from respect, or 
from curiosity, of which there were multitudes. The purpose of 
Washington was, that such visitors should accomplish their ob- 
jects, without a sacrifice of time, which he considered indispens- 
able to the performance of his public duties. 

He devoted one hour every other Tuesday, from three to four, to 
these visits. He understood himself to be visited as the President 
of the United States, and not on his own account. He was not 
to be seen by anybody and everybody; but required that every 
one who came, should be introduced by his secretary, or by some 
gentleman whom he knew himself. He lived on the south side 
of Market Street, just below Sixth.* The place of reception was 
the dining room in the rear, twenty-five or thirty feet in length, 
including the bow projecting into the garden. Mrs. Washington 
received her visitors in the two rooms on the second floor, from 
front to rear. 

* This was the house of Robert Morris before Washington occupied it. 



120 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

At three o'clock, or at any time within a quarter of an hour 
afterwards, the visitor was conducted to this dining room, from 
which all seats had been removed for the time. On entering, he 
saw the tall manly figure of Washington clad in black velvet ; 
his hair in full dress, powdered and gathered behind in a large 
silk bag; yellow gloves on his hands; holding a cocked hat with 
cockade in it, and the edges adorned with a black feather about 
an inch deep. He wore knee and shoe buckles ; and a long sword, 
with a finely wrought and polished steel hilt, which appeared at 
the left hip ; the coat worn over the sword, so that the hilt, and 
the part below the folds of the coat behind, were in view. The 
scabbard was white polished leather. 

He stood always in front of the fire-place, with his face towards 
the door of entrance. The visitor was conducted to him, and he 
required to have the name so distinctly pronounced, that he could 
hear it. He had the very uncommon faculty of associating a 
man's name, and personal appearance, so durably in his memory, 
as to be able to call any one by name, who made him a second 
visit. He received' his visitor with a dignified bow, while his 
hands were so disposed of as to indicate, that the salutation was 
not to be accompanied with shaking hands. This ceremony never 
occurred in these visits, even with his most near friends, that no 
distinction might be made. 

As visitors came in, they formed a circle around the room. At 
a quarter past three, the door was closed, and the circle was formed 
for that day. He then began on the right, and spoke to each 
visitor, calling him by name, and exchanging a few words with 
him. When he had completed his circuit, he resumed his first 
position, and the visitors approached him in succession, bowed 
and retired. By four o'clock this ceremony was over. 

On the evenings when Mrs. Washington received visitors, he did 
not consider himself as visited. He was then as a private gentle- 
man, dressed usually in some colored coat and waistcoat, (the only 
one recollected was brown, with bright buttons,) and black, on his 
lower limbs. He had then neither hat nor sword ; he moved about 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 121 

among the company, conversing with one and another. He had 
once a fortnight an official dinner, and select companies on other 
days. He sat (it is said) at the side, in a central position, Mrs. 
Washington opposite ; the two ends were occupied by members of 
his family, or by personal friends. 



LETTER XXII. 

Aphil 2, 1833. 

At this day, the conduct and character of Washington are 
spoken of with respect and veneration by most men. We have seen 
several sorts of administration of public affairs since his time ; it 
is not too soon to consider, calmly and dispassionately, the worth 
of that conducted by himself. It may be, that the efforts made 
in Washington's lifetime, by Paine, Bache, and Freneau, (to say 
nothing of any which Mr. Jefferson may have made, paid for, or 
approved of,) to deprive him of the esteem of his countrymen, 
have still some effect on the public mind. But the day will come, 
when Washington and Jefferson will both be remembered, by all 
who seek correct information, as they should be. 

Washington brought into office the reputation of a successful 
military chief. Not that which depends on personal courage ; nor 
that which arises from the able use of the best means for con- 
ducting warfare ; but the reputation of having used means which 
we now look back upon with astonishment, as having been capa- 
ble of effecting the independence of the country. In all his 
agency, then, and ever after, wisdom, firmness, perseverance, 
great ability, unimpeachable integrity, are admitted to be his 
attributes. Infamous slanders have been forgotten in the lapse of 
time ; and some of those who paid for them, and circulated them, 
find their own interests promoted, in having them forgotten. 
11 



122 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Washington was not a successor. He had no path before him, 
marked out by time and experience. He had a nation to rule, 
who were to receive rules for the first time under a voluntary go- 
vernment, obtained with great exertion, and against the will of 
an able and irreconcilable minority. There was no reverence 
for ancient usages, no affection for a system, which its subjects 
had been born under, and had grown up with ; no cherished re- 
collections of evils averted and benefits secured, under a faithful 
exercise of power. There were the abstract rules of a constitu- 
tion ; no laws, no officers, no application of its force, to the ex- 
igencies of the country. There were all the complicated and 
embarrassing concerns of the late war ; craving creditors to the 
amount of many millions ; a pervading sense of gratitude to 
France ; the memory of bitter sufferings under the cruel exercise 
of British warfare, from one end of the continent to the other ; 
and most especially in the south. 

The memory of suffering in the south, particularly in South 
Carolina, was deep and irradicable. War there, was bereft of all 
the magnanimity and forbearance which modern usages, under 
Christian influence, have introduced to mitigate its horrors. It 
was vindictive, unsparing, merciless civil war. It was worse yet ; 
it was a wanton exercise of force, which was infamous, even 
when attempted to be palliated by calling it the lawful exercise 
of power against rebels. A correspondent feeling and action 
followed on the part of the Americans. Besides the evils of such 
a war, the inhabitants of the country were divided into whig and 
tory parties, and carried all the bitterness of the times into these 
distinctions. Among the most disgraceful and mournful tragedies 
ever acted among men, was the execution of the gallant and hon- 
orable Colonel Isaac Hayne, on the 4th of August, 1781, at 
Charleston. The names of the two British officers who had the 
heart to order this, shall not be mentioned. They resisted such 
an appeal as ought to have softened the hardest substance that 
can be called a human heart. The second Gothic king, who wore 
a Roman crown, died of remorse, that he had put a fellow man 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 123 

to death, under circumstances more excusable than those which 
carried Colonel Hayne to a place of execution. No time, no 
distance, should ever permit the oblivion of such scenes ; that 
they may serve to moderate the exercise of power, and warn the 
soldier that future generations will judge of him with impartial 
justice. Such feelings towards the British, were, from like causes, 
prevalent in Virginia. The elements of opposition, needed only 
some combining and exciting cause, to be felt in all their force. 

To the high responsibility of giving motion and effect to the 
new system, among all these discordant elements, it was the -lot 
of Washington to be called. Without going minutely into mea- 
sures, let us glance at the prominent ones, and judge by the light 
of experience, whether he, and his political associates, were right 
or wrong. 

Was it right, or wrong, to provide for the payment of the public 
debt, justly called "the price of UbertyV Who can answer in 
the negative? Was the manner of this provision right or wrong? 
If wrong, it must have been so from not paying the holders of 
securities, which had changed hands innumerable times, at the 
rate of purchase. How could this be ascertained ; and was every 
bargain made in the United States, to be traced through all its 
steps to the original holder ? If some men thought better of event- 
ual solvency of the nation than others did, and chose to take the 
risk, was this a reason w T hy they should not be paid ? If one man 
could purchase an article of uncertain value, at a rate which the 
owner was disposed to take, what law of justice, or honor, for- 
bade the purchase ? It is true, that the poor soldier and the war- 
worn officer had parted, in their poverty and necessity, with the 
paper payment for their services, for an almost nominal consider- 
ation. But what was this to the creditor ? To these soldiers 
and officers, there was still a national debt in gratitude and just- 
ice. It has been poorly paid to survivors, after most of the 
whole number had found their graves. Gratitude is a fruitless 
claim in most cases, when presented to the conscience of a na- 



124 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

tion. Not to have done what was done, would have been injustice, 
for which there could have been no palliation. 

The manner of this provision — was this right, or wrong ? The 
amount of the revolutionary debt, estimated at specie value, in 
1790, was ($135,190,703) more than one hundred and thirty-five 
millions of dollars. It was to be liquidated and funded, and 
provision made for interest and principal. To this end, the com- 
mercial regulations, now in force* comprising the whole system 
of shipping interests, and insensible taxation by duties on importa- 
tion, were established. These regulations have been adhered to, 
in all the hostility manifested in later times, to the Washington 
administration. But it was not for the occasion of the day, that 
they were established; it was to make a sure foundation (united 
with other subjects) for national credit and security in all future 
times. When the government has been well conducted, and has 
deserved public confidence, these regulations have answered the 
intended purpose. From this system of things arises now the 
vital strength of the national government; a strength which may 
be safely relied on in every emergency, when the national rulers 
have justly the confidence of the country. We hear, at this day, 
proud boastings of the extinction of the national debt of the revo- 
lution, and of the one hundred millions of debt accumulated in the 
late war. By whose wisdom and foresight was it, that the extinc- 
tion of the debt has been effected ? By those who founded the 
financial system, or those who, since that time, have applied it, 
well or ill, as the case may be ? 

Was Washington's administration right, or wrong, towards 
France and England, during their vindictive and exterminating 
war ? No man ever had a more delicate and difficult task to per- 
form than in relation to these belligerents. To both of them, this 
country, situated at the distance of three thousand miles from the 
cabinets of each, and near colonies of both, was a subject of 
unceasing jealousy. Each desired to prevent this country from 

* Refers to the year 1833. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 125 

becoming adversely a party in the war: and France was reso- 
lutely determined, by every art of corruption and intrigue, and 
by open menace, that it should become a party, in alliance with 
her. What could this country gain, and how much was it sure 
to lose, by engaging in the war, on either side! Surely the true 
policy of the country was strict neutrality. To preserve this, the 
most forbearing and conciliatory measures were adopted towards 
each ; ministers were sent, and instructions given to show, that 
the United States were and meant to be neutral. 

When the conduct of Great Britain became intolerable in the 
capture of American ships, was it best to go to war, and take the 
chances of French fraternity, or to send a special messenger to 
make explanations, and demand reparation? The good sense of 
the country came to the relief of the administration in this mea- 
sure ; and the country was saved from the calamities which 
threatened it, by the ratification of Mr. Jay's treaty, and by 
popular approval. 

To the last hour of his administration, Washington persevered 
in his neutrality; and was able to countervail the popular clamor 
in favor of France. We can look back calmly, on the policy of 
that peculiar country; we now know what the fate of all countries 
was that submitted to French alliance, whether republican or im- 
perial ; and we can plainly see what would have been the fate of 
this country, if Washington had yielded to the hollow assurances 
and open menaces of Genet, Fauchet, and Adet, sustained, as 
they were, by an unfaithful or deluded portion of our country, 
sometimes amounting to a popular majority. 

In the discretionary exercise of executive power, the Washing- 
ton administration was wise and tolerant. In filling offices, the 
President preferred, when he could, the revolutionary chiefs, of 
whose integrity, and ability, he had ample proofs. No one will 
say, that such men did not deserve the honors and emoluments of 
office, which their own perilous efforts helped to establish. He 
did not, like some of his successors, profess to ask: Is he honest, 
is he capable, is he faithful to the constitution? He appointed 

11* 



126 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

men that were so. He displaced no man for the expression of his 
opinions, even in the feverish excitement of French delusion. 

With regard to all other foreign governments; the judiciary; 
the national bank; the Indian tribes; the mint; in his deport- 
ment to his own ministers ; his communications to Congress ; his 
construction of the constitution ; his sacred regard for it ; his devo- 
tion to the whole Union ; his magnanimity and forbearance ; his 
personal dignity ; in all these, and in relation to all other subjects, 
how great and honorable was his example, how transcendently 
above all praise that man can bestow ; and yet how utterly have 
his views, and his example been disregarded within these thirty 
years! 

As successive events and new agents arise in our national 
progress, and means of comparison are lost in the lapse of time, 
we are in great danger, by taking those which are most recent, of 
descending by steps, to the end of republican freedom. The 
state of our country now, freed as it is from debt,* disentangled 
as it is from European alliances, fearless as it is from Indian ag- 
gressions, presents an humiliating contrast with its condition at 
the close of the last century. On the disheartening difficulties of 
that day, time has rolled its tide. Not one in a thousand of those 
who were then minors, or born since, has given a serious thought 
to them, with a view to know, as to all that is now doing, what 
is right or wrong. These real difficulties are gone ; and what 
have succeeded to them ? Those of domestic creation; the jea- 
lousies and enmities fomented among the members of the same 
family ; the cravings for power and distinction ; the reign of 
selfishness, and of passion. By these the strength of the govern- 
ment is to be tried, as its founders predicted ; and not by the 
combined strength of all Europe, while we are united among 
ourselves. 

* Reference must be had in reading these letters, to their respective dates. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 127 



LETTER XXIII. 

April 5, 1833. 

It is time to relieve this narration of political events, by some 
description of public men at the close of the last century. It 
must be remembered, that there are friends and descendants of 
these men, now living, whose feelings are to be respected ; and, 
also, that the remarks to be made are those of one individual, who 
narrates from memory, and his own notice of men and things, 
and who may not have seen and observed, as others did. The 
inducement to make any remarks of this nature is, that the time 
is at hand, when all power to speak of men who were busy at 
the close of the last century, from personal knowledge, will cease. 
Who and what they were, who were Washington's military and 
political associates, friends or foes, must be interesting — especially 
as they lived when European governments were shaken to the 
centre by the force of revolution, sufficiently powerful to be felt 
and dreaded in this far western world ; and, also, that they lived 
and acted at a time, when fear of, or devotion to, revolutionary 
notions, brought all minds, strong or feeble, into incessant action. 
Reason and good sense were then, as now, impotent agents, 
against that popular excitement which makes law for itself. 

Mr. Jefferson mentions in his writings "the Essex Junto," 
with much reproach. What persons he meant by this party dis- 
tinction, he did not know himself. It seems to have been his 
practice, to throw out defamatory remarks to fix as they might. 
It is well remembered, that there were intelligent men in the 
county of Essex, who were steadfast friends of the Washington 
administration, and who supported that of Mr. Adams, though 
without unqualified approbation. These men had intimate friends 
and associates in Boston, who thought as they did. They were, 
unitedly, sincere and uncompromising opponents of Jeffersonism, 



128 F.v Mil. I ak i E r i r lis 

in all its tonus. Their political merits and de-merits, may depend 
on this. It' the administrations of Washington and Adams were 
right, thej were right. It' devotion to France, merely because it 
was France, and hatred of England, merely because it was Eng- 
land, regardless of duty or interest, as to their own country, was 
wrong, they were right, as subsequent events most clearly proved. 
They were men, ami, like other men, might feel ami exp 
indignation at the abuse ami perversion of power to mere party 
purposes ; ami mighl ha\ e desired to see power properly restrained, 
ami rightly applied; ami ma_\ have expressed more decidedly, 
than some others did, their own opinions. Hut Mr. Jefferson was 
the real cause of these opinions. It' he was a wise and honest 
statesman, and deserved tin 1 confidence and gratitude o( his 
countrymen, the Essex Junto were wrong. It' he was practically 
the enemj of the national constitution, and merely the chief o( 
a party, and not the President of the United States, they were 
right . 

Among the distinguished men, at the close of the last century, 
was Bi - :. : Lincoln; a revolutionary officer, Secretary at War, 
the General in the Massachusetts insurrection, and first Collector 
of the port of Boston. In 1794, lie was about sixty years tyf age. 
He had received only an inferior education, but had done much 
to compensate for its defects. Before the war. In- had been town 
officer, member of the legislature, and militia colonel, lb' was 
about five t'eet nine inches in stature, and of so uncommonly broad 
person, as to seem to be of less stature than he was. His gray 
hair was combed back from his forehead, unpowdered, and 
gathered in a long queue. His face was round and full, his eyes 
blue, and his complexion light. He was usually dressed in a 
blue eoat, and light under clothes, and wore a eoeked hat. lie 
always appeared in boots, in consequence o( the deformity of his 
left lee,-, occasioned by a wound received at the capture of Bur- 
goyne. His speech was with apparent difficulty, as though he 
were too full. The expression of his countenance was exceed- 
ingly kind and amiable. His manner was very gracious: like 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 129 

those of all the high officers of the revolution, his deportment was 
dignified and courteous. Jle wrote essays on several subjects, 
commercial, agricultural, and philosophical, some of which were 
published, lie employed some one to read these essays, and 
assigned for a reason, thai being entirely ignorant of the gram- 
matical construction of language, he could judge only by the 
sound, of its correctness. 

General Lincoln was one of the lew persons who are afflicted 
with somnolency. This was not occasioned by age, but was con- 
Stitutional. In the midst of conversation, at table, and when 
driving himself in a chaise, he would fall into a sound sleep. 
While he commanded the troops against the Massachusetts insur- 
gents, he dictated dispatches, and slept between the sentences. 
His sleep did not appear to disturb his perception of circumstances 
that were passing around him. He considered this an infirmily, 
and his friends never ventured to speak to him of it. He was a 
man of exemplary morals, and of sincere piety, carrying fully 
into practical life, the ethics of the religion which he professed. 
He enjoyed the high respect and confidence of Washington, and 
the all'ectionate regard of his fellow-officers. He performed his 
various trusts with ability, and incorruptible integrity. He was a 
member of the American Academy, and President of the Cincin- 
nati. 

He died in 1810, at an advanced age. He was one of the 
very lew, whom Mr. Jefferson did not turn out of office. But so 
many persons were placed in the collectorship, of the new order 
of public officers, that it was disagreeable to him to remain in of- 
fice. From this cause, as well as increasing years, he retired. 



130 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER XXIV. 

A piiiL 10, 1S33. 

IIi.nux I\mi\ was a bookseller, and bookbinder, at Boston, 
when the war began, at which time he was about twenty-five 
years old. He had been captain of a grenadier company ; and 
was a volunteer at Bunker Hill battle. He met Washington at 
Cambridge, in 1776 ; and was immediately made chief of artil- 
lery, in which relation he continued during the war, and always 
near head-quarters. He served throughout the war, and left the 
service with the rank of Major General. When he resigned the 
office of Secretary, at the close of 1794, he removed to Boston, 
and for some years afterwards resided there. He was a large, 
full man, above middle stature ; his lower limbs inclined a very 
little outward, as though they had taken a form from the long- 
continued use of the saddle. His hair w T as short in front, stand- 
ing up, powdered, and queued. His forehead was low, his face 
large and full below ; his eyes rather small, gray and brilliant. 
The expression of his face altogether, was a very fine one. 

When moving along the street, he had an air of grandeur, and 
self-complacency, but it wounded no man's self-love. He carried 
a large cane, not to aid his steps, but usually under his arm ; and 
sometimes, when he happened to stop and engage in conversation 
with his accustomed ardor, his cane was used to flourish with, in 
aid of his eloquence. He was usually dressed in black. In the 
summer, he commonly carried his light silk hat in his hand when 
walking in the shade. His left hand had been mutilated, and a 
part of it was gone. He wore a black silk handkerchief wrapt 
around it, from which the thumb and forefinger appeared. When 
engaged in conversation, he used to unwind and replace this hand- 
kerchief, but not so as to show his disfigured hand. 

When thinking, he looked like one of his own heavy pieces, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 131 

which would surely do execution when discharged ; when speak- 
ing, his face had a noble expression, and was capable of displaying 
the most benignant feeling. This was the true character of his 
heart. His voice was strong, and no one could hear it without 
feeling that it had been accustomed to command. The mind of 
Knox was powerful, rapid, and decisive ; and he could employ it 
continuously, and effectively. His natural propensity was highly 
social, and no man better enjoyed a hearty laugh. He said that 
he had, through life, left his bed at the dawn, and had been always 
a cheerful, happy man. 

He had a brilliant imagination, and not less brilliant modes of 
expression. His conceptions of the power and glory of the Creator 
of the universe, were of an exalted character. That he might 
give scope to this sentiment, he chose the region of Blue Hill, 
that he might there witness the great solar eclipse of the 16th June, 
1806. His expressions, at the decline of the light, in the moment 
of almost total darkness, and on the effulgence of the returning 
beams of the sun, were worthy of the occasion, and of his own 
glorious mind. The immortality of the soul was not with him a 
matter of induction, but a sentiment, or fact, no more to be ques- 
tioned, than his own earthly existence. 

His noble hospitality, exuberant generosity, and too confident 
a calculation on the productiveness of sales of extensive tracts 
of land in Maine, led him into some embarrassments towards the 
close of his life. His life ended at the splendid mansion which 
he erected at Thomaston, in Maine, in the year 1806, from an 
unfortunate accident,* in the 56th year of his age. 

When President Adams concluded to form an army in 1798, 
Washington accepted the chief command, with the right of naming 
his chiefs. He named Hamilton Inspector General, and first in 
command under him, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, second, and 
Knox, third. Knox was exceedingly hurt at this, as he was Hamil- 
ton's senior, in years, and rank. He hesitated, for some time, 

* He swallowed a piece of chicken bone, which produced a fatal mortification. 



232 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

whether to accept. But his own manly feelings, and the nature of 
the call on him, suppressed the natural sensibility of a soldier, 
and he accepted. 

The manners of the revolutionary officers among themselves, 
(there were several in Boston at the time now spoken of,) were ex- 
ceedingly affectionate, and familiar. They spoke to each other by 
their Christian names, or surnames only; but yet there was a 
courtesy and dignity which always made it the intercourse of 
gentlemen. All of them were in the habit of using expressions, 
(no doubt acquired in the army,) which hardly seemed to be pro- 
faneness in them, though it would now be such, if used by any 
one. They were in many respects a noble set of men. It is to 
be hoped, that the race is not extinct. Perhaps the occasion made 
them what they were ; for there seems to be few such men in these 
days. 

It was of this same Henry Knox, that Thomas Jefferson has 
published to his countrymen, and for the benefit of posterity, as 
follows: (vol. iv. page 484 ;) "Knox subscribed at once to Hamil- 
ton's opinion, that we ought to declare the treaty void, (French 
treaty of 1778,) acknowledging, at the same time, like a fool as 
he is, that he knew nothing about it." "There having been an 
intimation by Randolph, that in so great a question he should 
choose to give a written opinion, and this being approved by the 
President, I gave in mine April the 28th. Hamilton gave in his. 
I believe Knox's was never thought worth offering, or asking for." 
(In the same vol. page 491,) "Knox, in a foolish, incoherent sort 
of a speech, introduced the pasquinade, lately printed, called the 

funeral of George W n, and James W n," (Judge Wilson, 

of the Supreme Court of the United States, one of the framers of 
the constitution,) "King and Judge, &c, where the President was 
placed on a guillotine. The President was much inflamed ; got 
into one of those passions when he cannot command himself; 
defied any man on earth to produce one single act of his, since 
he had been in the government, which was not done on the purest 
motives." In this page Mr. Jefferson records Washington as 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 133 

using an oath; "that by God, he had rather be in his grave than 
hi his present situation." Thus, Mr. Jefferson is the American, 
who has taken pains to record for the public eye, (true or false,) 
that Washington was guilty of profaneness! 

"Some officers of the army," (vol. iv. page 444,) "as it has 
always been said, and believed, (and Steuben and Knox have 
ever been named as the leading agents,) trained to monarchy by 
military habits, are understood to have proposed to General Wash- 
ington, to decide this great question by the army, before its dis- 
band ment, and to assume, himself, the crown, on the assurance 
of their support." It is well known, that anonymous letters 
were circulated in camp, to the above effect ; but this is the only 
case in which the names of Knox and Steuben are so connected 
theiewith. On the contrary, two men (who afterwards figured 
eminently in the ranks of democracy) have ever been "named," 
truly or otherwise, as the authors of these letters. As to Knox, 
this is certain, that when the officers were assembled, to consider 
these letters, he w r as Chairman of the Committee which prepared 
the report of indignant disapprobation of them. 

Mr. Jefferson may have been of the number of those who 
believed with Rochefoucauld, a French philosopher, and maxim- 
writer, that there is something in the misfortunes of our best 
friends which does not displease us. It is quite certain that the 
misfortunes of Mr. Jefferson's political adversaries gave him no 
pain. In a letter to Mr. Madison, (January 3, 1799, vol. iii. 
page 406,) he says, "General Knox has become bankrupt for 
four hundred thousand dollars, and has resigned his military com- 
mission. He took in General Lincoln for one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars, which breaks him. Colonel Jackson also sunk 
with him." The manner of this annunciation may be some indica- 
tion of the sort of heart which Mr. Jefferson had. It is to be 
hoped, that he did some injustice to that of Mr. Madison, in so 
addressing him. It was undoubtedly true, that General Knox, 
from causes before stated, was a debtor, and embarrassed ; and in 
some degree, from like causes, with those which occasioned Mr. 
12 



234 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Jefferson's own embarrassments, (a circumstance in his life 
which gave no pleasure to his political adversaries;) but it was 
never known, in this part of the country, that General Lincoln 
was broken, nor that Colonel Jackson had sunk. Both of them 
befriended Knox, and the fortunes of both may have been in some 
e impaired. But both ever entertained for him the most 
affectionate attachment.* 

•It i Qg, to transcribe here an anecdote, of the misfortunes 

of General EChox, as related to me by my father. I will give it as near ar lean 
1 own words: " General Knox, General Lincoln and General Jackson 
ompanions in the Revolution; had laughed, eaten, drunk, fought and 
on the mosl intimate terms. They loved each other to a degree but 
little known among men of the present day. After the struggle of the War, they 
retired to their homes, and were all comfortable in their worldly circumstances, if 
: hut Knox, possessing large tracts of Land in the State of Maine, upon the 
rapid sales of which he confidently relied, imagined himself more wealthy than 
and lived in luxurious style. He built himself a superb mansion at Tho- 
M tie, where all his friends met with a cordial welcome, and enjoyed the 
most liberal hospitality. It was not an unusual thing for Knox to kill, in summer 
iers of his friends visited him, an ox and twenty sheep on every 
-ling, and to make up an hundred beds daily in his own house. He 
i his own use and that of his friends, twenty saddle horses and several 
in his stables. This expensive style of living was too much 
for hi.- means, a- he w.as disappointed in the stile of his lands, and he was forced 
to borrow sums of money on the credit of his friends, General Lincoln and Gene- 
on. lb- soon found himself involved to a large amount, and was obliged 
lainthis friend.- of his embarrassments, into which he had unintentionally 
drawn them. Lincoln was at that timecollector of the port of Boston, and occupied 
a house in State Street, now torn down, part of which he used for the Custom 
II and pan he occupied as his dwelling. It was agreed, that the three should 

meet there, and a full exposition of Knox's affairs be made known. I was applied 
to, to act as counsel on the occasion, and was the first one who came at the time 
appointed. Jackson soon entered, after him Knox, and almost immediately Lincoln 
came in. They seated themselves in a semicircle, whilst I took my place at the 
table, tor the purpose of drawing up the necessary papers, and taking the notes of 
isure. These men had often met before, but never in a mo- 
ment of such sorrow. Both Lincoln and Jack-on knew and felt, that Knox, the 
kindesl hear! in the world, had unwittingly involved them. They were all too full 
ik, and maintained for some minutes a sorrowful silence. At hist, as if 
by the same impulse, they raised their eyes, their glances met, and Knox 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. ]35 

In making such assertions as are found in Mr. Jefferson's 
volumes, and in recording what he calls " false facts" has Mr. 
Jefferson erred? One can speak to another such things, as, if 
believed, would deprive the person spoken to of the esteem and 
respect of his fellow men, and perhaps subject him to public 
punishment. The speaker, in such case, must be presumed to 
have weighed consequences. One can speak of another, those 
things which would, if believed, produce like effects as to the 
person spoken of. There may be cases where it is justifiable and 
dutiful so to speak. Suppose one to speak such things, as are 
adapted to produce such effects, and that these things are false, 
and that the speaker hopes these effects will be produced, but 
that he shall not be known as the speaker ; what says the true 
law of honor, the law of the land, and the precepts of Christianity 
in such case? Suppose one to write deliberately, and calmly to 
revise falsehoods of the dead, and of the living, and to reserve 
these falsehoods for publication, when he should be beyond per- 
sonal accountability to the living, and to the representatives of 
the dead, what is the sentence which impartial justice must pro- 
nounce on his own fame ? Whether Mr. Jefferson has or has not 
erred, in any of these respects, is a question on which he has 
appealed to posterity. Let posterity pronounce its judgment. 

burst into tears. Soon, however, Lincoln rose, brushed the tear from his eye, and 
exclaimed: ' Gentlemen, this will never do! we came hitherto transact business; 
let us attend to it!' This aroused the others, and Knox made a full disclosure of 
his affairs. Although Lincoln and Jackson suffered severe losses, it never dis- 
turbed the feelings of friendship and intimacy which had existed between these 
generous hearted men." 



136 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER XXV. 

April 15, 1833. 

There were several distinguished persons visiting in the United 
States, in the last five years of the last century, and among them 
some of royal blood. The Duke of Kent, son of George the 
Third, was here, father of the young princess, now heiress to the 
throne." He was a tall man, of light, complexion; no opportunity 
.tec mred to describe in him, any peculiar traits of character. 
The present King of France was here, by the name of Mons. 
d'Orleans, accompanied by his two brothers, who were called, 
before the revolution, by the respective names of the Duke de 
xMontpensier and the Duke de Beaujolois. Both the latter are 
long since deceased. The Duke of Orleans was a man rather 
above middle stature, dark complexion, rather sunken eyes, and 
of very dignified deportment. He kept aloof from the agitation 
of politics. The friends of France, apparently, did not think 
that his possible destiny could affect their interests. He made 
extensive excursions in this country, and was well informed, pro- 
bably from his own observation, of its condition and prospects. 
He was in the best society in the several cities. The instability 
of human fortune has been strongly illustrated in the life of this 
person. Born to high distinction, he had the affliction of seeing 
it all disappear as a \ision, and himself reduced to the necessity 
of toiling for subsistence. He bore his reverses with magnanimity, 
and profited by them, and may now be the better monarch from 
these causes. Since his exaltation to the throne, he has done 
honor to his own heart by recognizing the courtesies and kindness 
experienced in this country.f 

* \ Q \ JtOl 1:1. 

■law to Lafayette, and very highly and respectably 
I in the summer of 1795, came to this country in company 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 137 

A gentleman, now known as one of the first merchants in the 
world, and as a member of Parliament, Mr. Alexander Baring,* 
was then in this country. He was a man of middle stature, of 
light complexion and blue eyes. He was considered to be a well 
informed person, and of highly respectable manners. As to the 
former, this has since been verified by useful and intelligent per- 
formances in parliamentary debate. He married an American 
lady, the daughter of Mr. Senator Bingham, who built and dwelt 
in the house now known as the "Mansion House" in Philadelphia. 
This was one of the places, at that time, of elegant hospitality in 
the "beautiful city," as it was called. "Beautiful," however, 
should have been applied to what is intellectual and social, in 
that day, no less than to that which has not yielded to the unsparing 
hand of time. Certainly, the social intercourse of Philadelphia, 
at the close of the last century, was as delightful and interesting as 
could be found on the globe. There may have been elsewhere, 
more names, places of assembly, titles, and distinctions, than in 
Philadelphia at this period. But being the seat of government, 
and place of Washington's abode, and Congress being then an 
object of attraction to visitors, and this city the attractive point 

with Mr. Bingham, hereafter mentioned in this letter. His means were limited, 
and he occupied a third story room in a block of buildings, then standing at the 
extreme west end of Mr. Bingham's garden. As above stated, Mons. d'Orleans and 
his two brothers were then in Philadelphia; and John Copley, the present Lord 
Lyndlmrst, with several other young gentlemen, who have since, in many instances, 
risen to eminence, and some of whom have passed away, were likewise to be 
found among the gay circles of the city. The Viscount gave a dinner, at which the 
above gentlemen were present, as was also the author of these letters. The dinner 
was given at the Viscount's lodgings, and the guests were obliged to sit in the front 
chamber, many occupying the bed for want of chairs, while the dinner was being 
served in the adjoining room. The dinner was served by Mr. Bingham's servants, 
he being a guest on the occasion, and was served, too, on Mr. Bingham's plate, 
besides having been cooked in Mr. Bingham's kitchen. Such were the circum- 
stances of the Viscount at that time, and such the delicate attention extended him 
by Mr. Bingham. 

* The present Lord Ashburton, and late Minister Plenipotentiary of her Britannic 
Majesty, during the treaty negotiations of the N. W. Boundary. 

12* 



138 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

for all distinguished foreigners, the society of Philadelphia was 
well entitled to the praise of elegant and refined. 

Volney, the correspondent of Mr. Jefferson, the celebrated 
traveller, philosopher, and contemner of Christianity, (as his 
works show,) figured here at this time. He had a genuine French 
physiognomy, which no one could misunderstand. He was a tall, 
straight, well-formed person ; high forehead, blue eyes, small 
mouth, and peculiar expression of face. He asked Washington 
to give him letteis of recommendation, to be used in his excursion 
in the states. He was piobably understood. The letter given 
contained only these words : "C. Volney needs no recommenda- 
tion from George Washington." 

The foreign ministers, then in Philadelphia, made their houses 
places of agreeable resort. They usually gave a dinner once a 
fortnight, and an evening entertainment, commonly a ball, once 
in the same space of time. Mr. Liston was then the British 
minister. He was a Scotchman, of common size, dark complex- 
ion, and not distinguished for courtly manners. He w T ore a w 7 ig 
with curls at the sides. He had an amiable, knowing face. He 
was much esteemed. The Spanish minister was named d'Yrujo, 
then or afterwards a duke, and who has since made some figure 
in Spanish affairs. He was a short, full man. He married a 
lady of that city, a daughter of Chief Justice McKean, a lady of 
celebrity for beauty. Among the members of Congress who 
made part of the fashionable world, was William Smith, of South 
Carolina, a gentleman much distinguished in debate on the federal 
side-, and Robert Goodloe Harper, also of South Carolina, who 
came into Congress on the other side, but who conscientiously felt, 
in a short time, that he was on the wrong side, and gave it up. 
He made a rrlebrated speech on the French Revolution, which 
was printed in England, and very generally distributed. This 
speech was prepared in Boston, where he passed a part of the 
summer of 1795. Mr. Harper was a well-formed man, of middle 
stature, and uncommonly full chest; and then much in fashion in 
his personal appearance. He was a man of strong mind, a fluent 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 139 

orator, of respectable, but not adorned manner. In his private 
intercourse he was exceedingly amiable and pleasant. He was a 
man of excellent heart, and friendly disposition, and, as a public 
man, one of the most respectable of that time. He settled after- 
wards in Baltimore, and married the daughter of the survivor of 
those who signed the declaration of independence. He held the 
rank of general, and distinguished himself honorably, in repelling 
the attack of the British on Baltimore in the late war. General 
Harper and William Smith are among the number of those whom 
Mr. Jefferson will introduce to posterity as monarchists, and as 
being among "the worthless and disaffected." 

Mr. Carroll (just now alluded to) was rather a small and thin 
person, of very gracious and polished manners. At the age of 
ninety, he was still upright, and could see and hear as well as men 
commonly do. He had a smiling expression when he spoke ; and 
had none of the reserve which usually attends old age. He was 
said to have preserved his vigor, by riding on horseback, and 
by daily bathing in cold water. He was a gentleman of the "old 
school" of deportment, which is passing away, if not gone. 

Mr. Gallatin made a distinguished figure in the House, in these 
days, on the opposition side. He indicated his origin by his pro- 
nunciation of our language, in a manner not to be mistaken. It 
appears from the records of the Senate, when his right to a seat 
there was objected to in 1795, on the ground of defect in citizen- 
ship, that he was born in Geneva, in January, 1761, and was 
for some time a teacher of the French language at Cambridge. 
He was considered to be a very able man, and has proved to be 
such in the stations and writings of subsequent time. He was 
rather above the common size, of intelligent face and brilliant 
black eye. He was a frequent speaker in the House, an argu- 
mentative, and not a graceful one. Mr. Madison was then in 
Congress, and an efficient member on the opposition side. A man 
of small stature, and grave appearance. At the close of his pre- 
sidency, he seemed to be a care-worn man, and seemed, by his 
face, to have attained to a more advanced a<re than was the fact. 



140 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

He had a calm expression, a penetrating blue eye, and looked like 
a thinking man. He was dressed in black, bald on the top of his 
head, powdered, of rather protuberant person in front, small lower 
limbs; slow and grave in speech. Mr. Madison was a warm ad- 
vocate for the Union, and the associate of Jay and Hamilton, in 
the effort to make it acceptable to the public. But he early be- 
came an opponent of the administration, and closely allied to Mr. 
Jefferson. It would be exceedingly interesting to know what this 
eminent man's opinions are, now 4hat he can look back, dispassion- 
ately, on a long, active, and responsible political life; and what 
acts of his public life, if any, he disapproves; and whether in his 
calm retrospection, he is satisfied with his pretensions to be 
ranked among the truly worthy successors of Washington. 

However it may have been with Mr. Madison, he may have 
discerned, since his time, that public office in the United States 
is not always a solemn trust to be executed, according to enlight- 
ened conscience, for the common good : but may be a mere con- 
venience to carry into effect the unworthy purposes of party 
allegiance. 

Among the eminent men who lived in Philadelphia at the close 
of the last century, was Robert Morris. He was born in England, 
in 1733, and came to America when he was fifteen years of age. 
He was placed in the counting-house of Mr. "Willing, father of 
Thomas Willing, who was the first President of the United States 
Bank. On coming of age, he was copartner with the latter gen- 
tleman, and continued to be so for nearly forty years. Though 
Robert Moiiis was of English birth, he devoted himself to the 
patriot side, in the revolutionary contest. He had acquired great 
wealth as a merchant, but he cheerfully risked the whole of it to 
gain the independence of his adopted country. The final success of 
the revolution depended no less on the ability and industry of this 
one man, than on all the armies, with Washington as their chief. 
When Congress had exhausted their means, all other means de- 
pended on Robert .Morris. At one time he had used his own 
persona] credit to the extent of one million four hundred thousand 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 141 

dollars, to sustain the credit of the United States. The records 
of these times are the honorable proofs of the esteem and respect 
in which both Congress and Washington regarded his patriotic 
labors and services. 

He was the founder of the first bank in this country, a signer 
of the declaration of independence, member of the convention 
which framed the constitution, for some years a senator in the na- 
tional government, and the personal friend of Washington. 

In 1784, under the old confederation, he resigned his office of 
"Financier," and when the new government went into operation, 
he was solicited to take the place of Secretary of the Treasury, 
but declined, and recommended the appointment of Hamilton. 

After leaving all public employment, he exercised the same 
inventive genius and indefatigable industry in his own affairs 
which he had devoted to the public service, and engaged deeply in 
many and extensive enterprises ; and especially in the purchase 
of lands. Massachusetts had a claim to extensive tracts within 
the limits of New York, of which he became the purchaser. 

In 1795-6, he was in the splendor of prosperity, and then 
about sixty-three years of age. His house was at the corner of 
Sixth and Market Streets, and he had laid the foundation of a 
palace in the square, on the south side of Chestnut Street next 
above Seventh, (if rightly remembered,) with the intention of 
making the whole of that space his residence. His home was the 
abode of noble, cordial hospitality, abounding in everything that 
tended to make hospitality delightful. In his person (as now re- 
collected), he was of nearly six feet in stature, of large, full, well- 
formed, vigorous frame, with clear, smooth, florid complexion. 
His loose gray hair was unpowdered. His eyes were gray, of 
middle size, and uncommonly brilliant. He wore, as was com- 
mon at that day, a full suit of broadcloth, of the same color, and 
of light mixture. His manners were gracious and simple, and 
free from the formality which generally prevailed. He was very 
affable, and mingled in the common conversation, even of the 
young. 



142 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Within the three years following, his very extended concerns be- 
came embarrassed, and his prosperity declined. The extraordinary 
talents which were able to manage the moneyed concerns of the na- 
tion, under the most desperate circumstances, were incompetent to 
extricate himself from the difficulties which surrounded him. It is 
painful to know, that this able and commanding person, in the af- 
fairs of his country, and of society, closed his life under exceedingly 
depressed circumstances. Still more painful to know, that the turn of 
the times, and means which Morris would have abhorred, raised 
some men to places of high distinction, and put them in the way to be 
long remembered, while this generous, high-minded patriot, Morris, 
will be known to few only to have ever lived. He should be re- 
membered and honored, as among the earliest, and most perse- 
vering, and faithful worthies of this land ; while some men, who 
will be so held, should be regarded with proper sentiments, not 
for the good, but for the mischief which they achieved. Though 
Morris had leisure, at the close of his protracted life, to have laid 
in his claims to the respect, and to the gratitude of future ages, 
he left no memoir, letters, opinions, or Anas, by which his worth 
can be disclosed to the country, which he so truly adorned, and 
so faithfully labored to save. 



LETTER XXVI. 

Apiul 20, 1833. 

In 1795, the Governor of Massachusetts was the celebrated 
Samuel Adams. He came in after Hancock, May, 1794, and 
was then seventy-two years of age. He remained three years in 
office. 1 le was one of the most ardent of the patriots, before and 
during the revolution; a popular writer, and energetic speaker. 
He was of common size, of muscular form, light blue eyes, light 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 143 

complexion, and erect in person. He wore a tie wig, cocked hat, 
and red cloak. His manner was very serious. At the close of 
his life, and probably from early times, he had a tremulous motion 
of the head, which probably added to the solemnity of his elo- 
quence, as this was, in some measure, associated with his voice. 
He was in favor of adopting the federal constitution, but became 
an opponent to the administration. Though he and Hancock 
were the only two men excepted in the British proclamation of 
amnesty, they were, at one time, on very ill terms with each other 
from differences of opinion. He died in 1803. Samuel Adams 
was a sincere, devoted, and most effective agent in the revolution- 
ary cause, with his pen, his tongue, and by example. He put 
everything dear to him upon the issue. 

He was succeeded in 1797, by Increase Sumner, taken from 
the bench of the Supreme Court. Governor Sumner was of large 
person, a sensible man, of truly amiable character. He took an 
active part in the convention in favor of the constitution. He 
died in June, 1799, much regretted. 

He was buried with the formal ceremonies, which have been 
observed here, on such occasions, ever since Hancock's time. 
Four chief magistrates have died in office. 

The Chief Justice was Francis Dana, who was sent to Russia 
as minister during the war, and was absent three years. He was 
a man of common stature, thin person, stooping a little, and of 
studious face. He was called an able lawyer, and was a very 
direct, clear, forcible speaker, but his manner, on the bench, was 
severe. In winter, he wore a white corduroy surtout, lined with 
fur, and a large muff; probably Russian acquisitions. Ro- 
bert Treat Paine was also on the bench. He was a signer of the 
declaration of independence. He was a man of common stature, 
but very thin person ; and of quick, ardent temper, as his black 
and sparkling eye might indicate. He did not hear easily. The 
manners of the court to the bar were, in those days, far from court- 
eous ; which occasioned the remark of Mr. Ames, that a lawyer 
should come prepared with a club in one hand, and a speaking 



144 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

trumpet in the other. In his private life, he was a kind-hearted, 
and affectionate man. He was long in public life, and in re- 
sponsible stations, but there is not a speech, nor a word of his, 
preserved. He was a strong, earnest speaker, but could not be 
ranked among the eloquent. 

In 1800, Theodore Sedgwick took his seat on the bench of the 
Supreme Court. He was a zealous advocate for the adoption of 
the constitution, and is frequently mentioned by Mr. Jefferson, as 
one of the monarchists ; and is included among the disaffected 
and worthless. He had been for many years in Congress, and 
Speaker of the House. He moved that the House should pass 
the necessary laws to carry the British treaty into effect. He was 
a man of large size, of good face, of dignified and courteous de- 
portment, but with something of display of manner. From the 
time of his appointment to the bench, the conduct of the court 
towards the bar underwent an entire revolution, and the former 
causes of complaint soon disappeared. He was supposed to have 
induced this important change. Judge Sedgwick had the reputa- 
tion of being a good lawyer, and a gentleman, in every meaning 
of that term. 

Towards the end of the last century, among the men who were 
then juniors, and who were afterwards to take a very important 
part in the affairs of the country, were Christopher Gore, (then 
District Attorney,) Samuel Dexter, Harrison Gray Otis, and John 
Quincy Adams. There was also at the bar John Lowell, who, 
though he was not in Congress, nor in the national government 
in any station, had great influence on public opinion, as an un- 
daunted and powerful writer in subsequent days, as there will be 
occasion to show. 

Among the known writers on the opposition side, was the inde- 
fatigable Benjamin Austin, author of a long series of essays 
signed " Old South," and many others. They have ceased to be 
remembered ; but they may, at some distant day, be worth an his- 
torian's perusal, as indicative of the temper of the times. On the 
other hand, there was a very able writer who signed himself 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 145 

"Laco." His writings attracted great attention ; but the author 
kept his own secret ; and it is not known who he was. 

About the end of the century, the forms of society underwent 
considerable change. The leveling process of France began to 
be felt. Powder for the hair began to be unfashionable. A loose 
dress for the lower limbs was adopted. Wearing the hair tied, 
was given up, and short hair became common. Colored garments 
went out of use, and dark or black were substituted. Buckles 
disappeared. The style of life had acquired more of elegance, as 
means had increased. Crowded parties, in the evening, were not 
as common then as they are now. There was more of sociability, 
and less form and display, than there is now. Some of these 
changes may be referred to the increase of numbers and of 
wealth. The Americans are not a people of light, spiritual 
amusement, as the French and Germans are. In this part of the 
country, they are much more like what the English are represent- 
ed to be. There must be many still living, who remember the 
frank, friendly, social, unceremonious intercourse, which prevailed 
thirty or forty years ago. Has it disappeared ? If it has, from 
what cause? and is the present state of things a better one? 



LETTER XXVII. 

April 30, 1833. 

The retirement of General Washington was a cause of sincere, 
open, and indecent rejoicing among the French party in the United 
States. In France it was an event long desired, and cordially 
welcomed. The real friends of this country, and who were intel- 
ligent enough to comprehend the probable consequences, con- 
sidered the loss of Washington's personal influence a public 
calamity. 
13 



146 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

At the time when the necessity of finding a new candidate for 
the presidency engaged the general attention, the relations of the 
United States with France were never more vexatious and embar- 
rassing. President Washington had recalled Mr. Monroe, and 
sent over Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, as his successor. The 
government of France was then vested in a Directory of five ; a 
Council of Ancients, and an Assembly of five hundred. Mr. 
Monroe was allowed a very gracious and complimentary retire- 
ment from the presence of the French dignitaries; he was told at 
in,' time, what an abominable government his own country- 
men had, yet how ardently the French loved them. But Mr. 
Pinckney was refused a reception, threatened with police custody, 
and at length, peremptorily ordered to cpiit the French territory. 
About this time, orders were issued to capture American vessels, 
wherever found, and bring them in as prize. These orders were 
faithfully executed. The French colonies in the West Indies sent 
out great numbers of privateers; and that of St. Domingo alone 
out eighty-seven. 

I '. fore this change in the French policy was known in the United 
States, the election of President came on. There was great differ- 
ence of opinion among the federal party, whether to seek the 
election of John Adams, or Thomas Pinckney. As the constitu- 
tion then was, both were voted for, by that party, expecting that 
one of them would be President, and the other Vice President. 
Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Clinton, of New York, were the two oppos- 
ing candidates. Most unexpectedly the result was, that Mr. 
Adams stood highest, Mr. Jefferson next, and Mr. Pinckney third. 

It was supposed, that so many of the eastern electors as pre- 
ferred Mr. Adams to Mr. Pinckney, placed the latter candidate 
lower than they intended to do, and thereby gave a result which 
was exceedingly unwelcome as to the Vice President. 

Mi. Adams, on the day of his inauguration, (March 4, 1797,) 
was in his 62d year. He was dressed in a full suit of pearl-colored 
broadcloth ; with powdered hair. He was then bald on the top 
of his head. Mr. Adams was of middle stature, and full person; 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 147 

and of slow, deliberate manner, unless he was excited ; and when 
this happened, he expressed himself with great energy. Mr. 
Adams was a man of strong mind, of great learning, and of emi- 
nent ability to use knowledge, both in speech and writing. He 
was ever a man of purest morals: and is said to have been a firm 
believer in Christianity, not from habit and example, but from dili- 
gent investigation of its proofs. He had an uncompromising 
regard for his own opinion; and was strongly contrasted with 
Washington, in this respect. He seemed to have supposed that 
his opinions could not be corrected by those of other men, nor 
bettered by any comparison. He had been, from early manhood, 
a zealous patriot, and had rendered most essential services to his 
country, at home and abroad. These he always seems to have 
had in mind. He well remembered the painful struggles experi- 
enced in Europe, to obtain aid for the patriots at home, and an 
acknowledgment of independence, from governments there, while 
the war was yet regarded by England as rebellion. He ought 
to have known, as would seem from his own writings, in what 
manner public services are estimated. An individual can easily 
remember how much good he has done to a community; but those 
who are benefited, as easily forget. If public ingratitude is com- 
mon, it is very natural. It is not improbable that Mr. Adams was 
impatient in finding how much more the easily understood services 
of military men were appreciated, than were the secluded, though 
no less important ones, of diplomatic agency and cabinet counsel. 
So made up, from natural propensities, and from the circumstances 
of his life, Mr. Adams came to the presidency at the time when 
more forbearance and discretion were required than he is sup- 
posed to have had. He seems to have been deficient in the rare 
excellence of attempting to see himself as others saw him; and 
he ventured to act, as though everybody saw as he saw himself. 
He considered only what was right in his own view; and that was 
to be carried by main force, whatever were the obstacles. 

He found Mr. Pickering in the department of state, and con- 
tinued him there. This gentleman was intelligent, honest, and, 



148 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

like himself, disposed to respect his own opinion. Mr. Pickering 
had been most confidentially relied upon by Washington, and ex- 
pected the like intercourse with Mr. Adams. But, perhaps, no 
two iik mi, who had been associated in the national councils, except 
JeffersoD and Hamilton, were less likely to harmonize than these 
two; but from what causes, others must judge, from better means 
of information than can be herein pretended to. 

Mr. Pinckney's treatment in France was among the first objects 
that encraGfed the attention of the new President ; and connected 
with it, the seizure and condemnation of American vessels, and 
the harsh treatment of their navigators. Mr. Adams thought the 
stale of affairs demanded the deliberations of Congress, and its 
members were assembled on the 15th of May, 1797. In his 
speech, he commented on the expressions of the French govern- 
ment when Mr. Monroe took leave, as being highly derogatory 
to this country; he said he should make a new attempt to con- 
ciliate ; but thought it indispensable that Congress should put the 
country in such a state, as to enable it to vindicate its honor, and 
independence. 

Mr. Adams united Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Elbridge 
Gerry, and John Marshall (since Chief Justice) in a mission to 
France, with very ample powers. These envoys were assembled 
at Paris in the month of October following ; and immediately 
attempted to execute their commission. They gave the usual 
notice of their presence, and of their readiness to be accredited. 
Scenes followed of most exasperating character. Overtures, pro- 
posals, and demands were made, which excited an almost uni- 
versal indignation in the United States, and, for a time, even 
silenced the devoted friends of France. The dispatches of these 
envoys are the authority for the occurrences at Paris. The first 
of these was received at the close of the year 1797, and others, 
later during the winter. On the 3d of April, 1798, all the dis- 
patches, then received, were communicated to Congress, and 
made public. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 149 



LETTER XXVIII. 

Mat 5, 1833. 

From such authority it appears, that Mr. Osmond, private 
secretary of Mr. Talleyrand, then minister for foreign affairs, 
made known that the American envoys could not be received 
until certain expressions in Washington's last speech to Congress, 
concerning the conduct of France, were disavowed and atoned 
for, and that certain other things must be done before the envoys 
could be received and treated with ; that with a view to such 
arrangements, unofficial individuals would confer with the envoys, 
and make known the views of the Directory. Such individuals pre- 
sented themselves. Who they were was not then known ; as their 
names were written in cipher, and not communicated to Congress. 
Instead of their names, the letters X, Y, Z were used. In Mr. 
Jefferson's volumes he has many remarks on the X, Y, Z affair. 
He seems to have been insensible to the conduct and character of 
the French government. He discerned nothing humiliating, in- 
solent, or offensive, in the treatment of our envoys. He says 
(vol. iii. p. 402), " the X, Y, Z fever has abated considerably 
through the country, as I am informed, and the alien and sedition 
laws are working hard." Elsewhere he calls it "the X, Y, Z 
delusion." 

Such conferences could only have been permitted, from the 
earnest solicitude of the envoys to conciliate with France, and 
avoid hostilities. They knew that if war ensued, the United 
States had to create its maritime force, and that before this could 
be done, the commerce of the country, then extensive and valua- 
ble, might suffer still more than it had. They endured, therefore, 
an irregular intercourse, which they supposed would find an 
apology in the necessity of the case. 

Four things seem to have been positively demanded by Messrs. 

13* 



150 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

X, Y, Z. First, atonement for so much of Washington's speech 
as the Directory disliked ; secondly, the placing of France on the 
same privileged footing as England ; thirdly, a loan in a covert 
and disguised manner, of a large sum of money to France, so as 
to evade the appearance of a belligerent act, on the part of the 
United States, towards England ; fourthly, to give Mons. Talley- 
rand, to be divided between himself and his friends, 1,200,000 
francs, equal to about two hundred and tw r enty-three thousand 
dollars. These propositions were met and rejected, in a dignified 
and manly spirit, though urged in every variety of form, and pre- 
sented with menaces of the power of victorious and triumphant 
France. In one of these interviews, Mons. Y said: — "Gen- 
tlemen, I will not disguise from you, that, this satisfaction being 
made, the essential part of the treaty remains to be adjusted: 
II faut de l'argent; beaucoup de l'argent." (You must pay 
money; you must pay a great deal of money.) "He spoke much 
of the force, the honor, and the jealous republican pride of France, 
and represented to us strongly, the advantages which we should 
derive from neutrality thus purchased. He said that the receipt 
of the money might be so disguised as to prevent its being con- 
sidered a breach of neutrality by England, and thus save us from 
being embroiled with that power. Concerning the 1,200,000 
francs, little was said, that being completely understood, on all 
sides, to be required for the officers of government, and, therefore, 
needing no further explanation." In this manner this negotiation 
was prolonged timing about five months, but without making any 
impression on the envoys; at the end of which time Mr. Pinck- 
ney and Mr. Marshall were ordered to leave France. But Mr. 
Gerry was invited to remain, and continue the negotiation. He 
did so ; and did not return till October following. 

When these dispatches were made public, as already observed, 
there was a general indignation in the United States, and the 
common cry was, "millions for defence, not a cent for tribute." 
Mr. (Jerry was severelj censured for not having left France with 
his colleagues. There is no reason to doubt that he meant well ; 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 151 

and that he thought he could do alone, what he and his two as- 
sociates, Pinckney and Marshall, could not do jointly. He must 
have assumed that his better esteem individually, with the French 
rulers, would enable him to effect the purposes of the mission. 
He found himself, however, in the hands of adroit managers, and 
was compelled, at last, to withdraw, without, of course, effecting 
anything; and in a manner which added nothing to his reputation 
as a diplomatist, though it did nothing to impair his integrity. 

At the summer session of Congress, in 1798, provision was 
made for defence, by authorizing the organization of an army, 
and for borrowing money. Loans were negotiated at eight per 
cent., which was afterwards made a topic of complaint, and 
abuse of Mr. Adams. The young men took up the subject of the 
country's affairs with great zeal ; and in Boston, Robert T. Paine, 
the celebrated poet, wrote the well-known song of "Adams and 
Liberty." On the 8th of July, 1798, he delivered a highly 
wrought oration to his young associates. Addresses were sent to 
the President, from all parts of the country, glowing with patriot- 
ism, and with defiance of the great Republic. Mr. Adams had good 
reason to think that he stood strong in the respect and affection 
of the people ; and may well have considered this the proudest 
period of his public life. 

In the arrangement of the intended military force, all eyes were 
turned to Washington as the chief. Mr. Adams made known his 
intention to appoint him ; and in answer, without intimating a 
willingness to accept, he expresed his full approbation of the 
President's measures. He was afterwards appointed, with the 
condition that he might select his officers next in command. 
Some troops were embodied, and there was one encampment at 
Oxford, in Massachusetts. 

On the ocean, war began in earnest. The frigate Constellation, 
of thirty-eight guns, was immediately built, and the command 
given to Thomas Truxton, who, on the 9th of February, 1799, 
after an engagement of an hour and a quarter, captured the 
French frigate l'Insurgent (in the West Indies) of fifty-four guns. 



152 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

The Constellation came home to refit, and on the 1st of February, 
1800, met la Vengeance, of fifty-four guns. The battle lasted 
five hours, at the end of which time, la Vengeance was completely 
silenced, but not captured. A squall enabled her to escape, with 
the loss of one hundred and sixty men, killed and wounded. 

In the early part of 1799, Mr. Adams contemplated a new 
attempt at negotiation with France, in Paris. All those who had 
so far supported Mr. Adams' measures, considered it inconsistent 
with the honor and dignity of the nation to make any such 
attempt ; and that proposals to treat should come from France. 
Mr. Adams did not consult his cabinet on this occasion. When 
Mr. Pickering and Mr. McHenry, (Secretary at War,) were 
informed that he intended a new mission, they remonstrated, and 
this made the breach, which had long been widening, irreparable. 
On the 26th of February, 1799, the President appointed Oliver 
Ellsworth, of Connecticut, Patrick Henry, of Virginia, and William 
Vans Murray, of Maryland, (then minister at the Netherlands,) 
envoys extraordinary, and drew up his own instructions. Mr. 
Henry declined, and William Richardson Davie, of North Caro- 
lina, w r as substituted. 

France was surprised by the hostility of America ; more so that 
their influence in the United States was incompetent to prevent it. 
War w r as not her object. It could do her no good, and there was, 
undoubtedly, a disposition on her part to recede. The President, 
probably, took this view of the case, though it had not the ap- 
probation of his most intelligent supporters. Hamilton was much 
opposed to it, and is said to have written to the President to dis- 
suade him from sending envoys. This dissent only made the 
President more determined to persevere. The breach occasioned 
by this measure, between the President and his two ministers, 
Pickering and McHenry, (and some other opinions, as it is said, 
expressed by the latter favorable to Washington,) made the cabi- 
ael relation of these persons too unpleasant to be endured; and, in 
April or May, 1800, the President abruptly dismissed both these 
ministers. This event excited much sensation. It probably had 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 153 

some influence in reducing the federalists to a minority. But 
another measure, then thought to be highly impolitic, was a letter 
written by, and in the name of Alexander Hamilton, and published 
in 1800, " concerning the public conduct and character of John 
Adams." This letter, disclosing, as it did, and from an eminent 
man, a determined aversion to the continuance of Mr. Adams' 
official power, may be considered as among the operative causes 
of Mr. Adams' failure at the ensuing election. This publication, 
whatever may be thought of it as to the time in which it appeared, 
as to motives and manner, may have hastened the fall of fede- 
ralism. Nothing, it is believed, would have prevented it, in no 
very distant time. There was not then, and never has been since, 
a majority who were disposed to administer the government ac- 
cording to the true standard established by Washington, and 
conformed to by Mr. Adams, so far as his circumstances permitted; 
although, when pressed by necessity, subsequent administrations 
have always returned to it. 

The first subject of complaint against Mr. Adams, among the 
friends of the government, resulted favorably to the country. It 
prevented, for that time, the continuance of the United States in 
a war, for which they were unprepared, and in which they had 
much to lose, and nothing to gain. So far as mere interest was 
concerned, one would think Mr. Adams' policy was right. So 
far as honor and dignity were involved, there seem to have been 
different opinions. When the envoys arrived, the Directory had 
disappeared, and Napoleon Bonaparte was First Consul. They 
were respectfully received ; a satisfactory " convention," or treaty, 
was framed, and duly ratified by both parties. Thus Mr. Adams 
had the honor and gratification of bringing the long-continued 
controversy with France to a conclusion, within his four years : — 
at least, until new difficulties arose. 

Besides the mission to France, and the letter of Mr. Hamilton, 
there were other circumstances, in his four years, which were 
turned to account against Mr. Adams, with great success. Among 
these were certain legislative measures, severely reprobated by 



154 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

those whom they were intended to affect. They furnished mate- 
rials for abundant invective, as they were thought to be adverse 
to personal liberty and freedom of speech. That they may be 
judged of, with the calmness which comes with the lapse of time, 
as to past events, it is worth while to speak of them more fully. 

Among the legislative movements, intended to affect the official 
reputation of Mr. Adams, was the motion of Edward Livingston, 
made, originally, in February, 1800, in the House of Representa- 
tives, to call on the President for his reasons, for having delivered 
up to the British Jonathan Robbins, a native, and impressed 
American. The call having been answered, the motion was ex- 
tended, February 20th, and made to inculpate the President, for 
a dangerous interference of the executive power with judicial 
decisions; that the compliance of the Judge (Bee, of South Caro- 
lina) was a sacrifice of the constitutional independence of the 
judiciary, and exposed the administration thereof to suspicion and 
reproach. Mr. Livingston supported his motion, in a speech of 
three hours; Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Nicholas did their best to sus- 
tain him. 

On the other side, Mr. Bayard, Mr. Harper, Mr. Otis, Mr. Dana, 
and others, resisted the motion. On the 6th of March, John 
Marshall made his masterly and conclusive speech against the 
motion, which has been deemed equivalent to a judicial authority, 
and has been bound up in books of reports, and is referred to as 
such. The motion was finally rejected by a vote of about sixty- 
four to thirty-eight. 

This was a mere party effort, whether the mover and his poli- 
tical friends so intended it to be or not. The unquestionable 
facts are, that this Jonathan Robbins was born at Waterford in 
Ireland ; that his name was Thomas Nash ; that he shipped on 
board the British frigate Hermoine; that in September, 1797, he, 
with others, murdered one or more of the officers, and amonjr 
others Lieutenant Foreshaw ; that he escaped and got to Charles- 
ton, and was there July 1st, 1799. He pretended that he was 
born at Danbury, (Connecticut,) but the selectmen certified, that 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 155 

they knew of no such person, nor any one of the name of Robbins, 
in the town. Admiral Parker applied to Mr. Liston, the British 
minister, to request of the President to deliver up Nash, pursuant 
to the 27th article of the British treaty with the United States. 
The President wrote to Judge Bee to deliver him up, he then 
being in custody. Proper evidence of his identity, and of his 
crime, being presented to the judge, he was delivered up, tried, 
and executed. He confessed (it is said) at the time of execution, 
that he was Thomas Nash, born in Ireland. 

Mr. Marshall's speech (late Chief Justice) went to prove, that 
this was a proper exercise of executive power under the treaty, 
as the crime was committed within the jurisdiction of Great 
Britain. His speech was a most satisfactory answer to the posi- 
tion taken on the other side, that Nash was punishable in the 
United States, if punishable at all, as a pirate. The cause for 
demanding Nash was, that he had committed murder; an offence 
against British, and not against American law ; that whether he 
had also committed piracy, or not, (which crime, wheresoever 
committed, maybe punished by any nation among whom the cul- 
prit may be found,) he was a proper subject for delivery under 
the 27th article of the treaty, as a murderer. So the House de- 
cided. 

This incident is strongly illustrative of the times. It is well re- 
membered, that the impression sought to be made on the public 
mind was, that the President had delivered up one of his own 
countrymen, in obedience to British requisition, to be hung; not- 
withstanding the accused citizen had done no more than he law- 
fully might do, to escape from the tyrannical impressment of the 
mistress of the seas. It is not surprising that any administration 
should be overthrown, when such calumnies were easily received 
as truths. 



156 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER XXIX. 

May 7, 1833. 

Other legislative measures referred to, were the alien and 
sedition laws. In 1797, there were computed to be thirty thousand 
Frenchmen in the United States, all of whom were devoted to 
their native country, and all of whom were, in some way, asso- 
ciated, through clubs, or otherwise, and who had a strong fellow- 
feeling. This number does not refer to the emigrants who had 
fled on the commencement of the revolution ; but to men of a very 
different order, who had left France (after the monarchy had fal- 
len), from necessity or choice. Besides these, there were com- 
puted to be fifty thousand who had been subjects of Great Britain, 
and some of whom had found it unsafe to remain at home. They 
fled to a country, as they understood it, where they should be 
free to do anything which they thought fit to do, in the name of 
" liberty," and where its enemies might be encountered, whether 
in office or not. A combination was formed and organized with 
more detail than is common in military usage, and prepared to 
act with union and effect, in any "emergency." Philadelphia, 
at that time the seat of government, was the head-quarters of this 
combination. 

" The American Society of United Irishmen" was, at this 
time, a very formidable body. In the troubles in Ireland, the 
United Irishmen there, had revived their associations under the 
impulse of the French Revolution, and the British government 
encountered them with civil and military force. Some eminent 
men had joined the Union, and entertained the hope of securing 
an independent government. Thomas Addis Emmett engaged 
in this enterprise, which was wholly and disastrously unsuccess- 
ful. After a long imprisonment, that gentleman came to the 
United States in 1804, at the age of about forty, and rose to high 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 157 

professional eminence. He was of amiable character, and was 
highly esteemed.* When the British government had entirely de- 
feated the objects of the United Irishmen, it was proposed that they 
should be allowed to emigrate to the United States. This mea- 
sure, Mr. King, then minister at London, strenuously opposed. 
After Mr. Emmett came to this country he discussed publicly, with 
some severity, this opposition. It is believed that Mr. Emmett 
did not otherwise interpose, in any respect, in political movements, 
on this side. Some who had been involved in the troubles of 
Ireland came to the United States in 1795, and the two following 
years, bringing with them, of course, a bitter hostility to the 
English government, and a devotion to France, naturally arising 
from the belief, that the great Republic was prevented only by 
British superiority at sea, from sending over a force competent to 
establish liberty in their native land. It was easy for such emi- 
grants to learn, and believe, that the government of the United 
States was the proper object of their hatred, as identified with 
the government at home ; and that everything tending to uphold 
and honor republican France, demanded their zealous attachment. 
The combinations of the United Irish could not be misunderstood 
by our government ; and they were sufficiently alarming to require 
preventive measures. The Jacobin Clubs in the United States, if 
not then existing in name, were still so sympathetic with these 

* A very characteristic anecdote is related of this gentleman, when he was pur- 
suing his profession of counsellor at the bar of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Mr. Emmett was accustomed to carry a simple eye-glass loosely in his 
hand, which he frequently applied to his eye when addressing the court or jury. 
On one occasion, in the year 1815, when opposed to Mr. Pinkney (William) of 
Maryland, mentioned in some of the previous letters, Mr. Pinkney resorted to some 
personalities, in the course of his argument, against Mr. Emmett. Bringing his eye- 
glass to his eye, Mr. Emmett thus addressed the court, referring to Mr. Pinkney, 
who had then lately returned from a foreign mission : " May it please your honors, 
I know not where the honorable gentleman learned his manners; but if in his kit 
experience at foreign courts, he obtained them there, I am sure he could have kept 
no company; and if he took them with him, it is a great pity he did not leave 
them there," which reply, delivered with a slight brogue, was very effective. 

14 



158 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

alien combinations, as to be a most effective auxiliary. It is be- 
lieved that they were still organized, and in full vigor; though 
they were put clown in France after the fall of Robespierre. 

In the then state of the country, in relation to France, (which 
might intend to send over a military force, relying on the aid to 
be found within our own territories,) these powerful allies w T ere, 
very justly, a subject of alarm, and were so considered by the 
President. 

In the official speech made to Congress, at the May session, 
1797, the President makes these remarks: "It is impossible to 
conceal from ourselves or the world, that endeavors have been 
employed to foster and establish a division between the govern- 
ment and the people of the United States. To investigate the causes 
which have encouraged this attempt, is not necessary; but to repel, 
by united and decided councils, insinuations so derogatory to 
the honor, and the aggressions so dangerous to the constitution, 
union, and even independence of the states, is an indispensable 
duty. 

"It must not be permitted to be doubted, whether the people of 
the United States will support the government established by their 
voluntary consent, and appointed by their free choice ; or whether, 
surrendering themselves to the direction of foreign and domestic 
factions, in opposition to their own government, they will forfeit 
the honorable station which they have hitherto maintained." 

Congress passed a law, which was approved, on the 18th of 
June, 1798, providing, among other things, for the manner in which 
aliens might become citizens, whereby the facility with which citi- 
zenship had before been acquired, was much restricted. 2. It em- 
powered the President to order all such aliens, as he should judge 
to be dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or 
concerned in treasonable measures, to leave the United States. 
3. To grant licenses to aliens to remain during the President's 
pleasure. 4. It provided imprisonment, not exceeding three years, 
to such aliens as remained without license, and perpetual disquali- 
fication to become citizens. 5. It authorized the President to 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 159 

require bonds of aliens for good behavior. 6. Masters of vessels 
arriving in the United States, were required to report the names 
of aliens, if any were on board, under penalty of three hundred 
dollars. 

It appears from a letter of Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Madison, (vol. 
iii. p. 389,) that the mere discussion of this law had a salutary 
effect. He says, " The threatening appearances from the alien bills, 
have so alarmed the French who are among us, that they are 
going off. A ship chartered by themselves for this purpose, will 
sail in about a fortnight for France, with as many as she can 
carry. Among these, I believe, will be Volney, who has, in truth, 
been the principal object aimed at by the law. " This gentleman 
(Volney) has been before mentioned. He was a long time in this 
country, and was thought to be an emissary of France. 

As this law was made at the suggestion of the President, (John 
Adams,) it furnished a new and prolific theme of reproach. It 
was called by the opposition a British measure ; a servile copying 
of the forms of kingly despotism ; and an incontestable proof of 
design to assimilate our government to that of England, and eventu- 
ally to arrive at monarchy. 

This law was considered, (and especially in Virginia,) by all 
opponents of the administration, as vesting in the President an 
authority capable of perversion to a most alarming extent. Al- 
though it was expressly limited to aliens, yet it was pretended, 
that it might be, and would be, applied to native citizens. The 
opposition presses poured out their invective with renewed vigor, 
and were able to make a deep and lasting impression. Yet, when 
considered in itself, independently of party excitements, every one 
must admit, that all governments ought to exercise the power of 
sending aliens from their territories, whenever their presence is, or 
maybe, incompatible with the public peace and security. There 
can be no distinction between a monarchy and a republic, in this 
respect. The clamor against this law, undoubtedly, had a tendency 
to impair the President's popularity ; though it is not recollected 
to have been carried into effect in a single instance. 



260 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

The other law alluded to, was called the sedition law ; and 
among the opposition, the "gag law." These were its principal 
provisions. It made punishable these offences, viz. 1. Defaming, 
or bringing into contempt, the Congress, or President. 2. Exciting 
the hatred of the people against them. 3. Stirring up sedition in 
the United States. 4. Raising unlawful combinations for resisting 
the laws, and lawful authorities. 5. Aiding and abetting foreign 
nations against the United States, their people, or government. 

Looking back dispassionately to these days, with a full know- 
ledge of the designs of France, and at the perils of the country, from 
its internal enemies, (though they did not so consider themselves, 
and therefore the more dangerous,) it is inconceivable that such a 
law should have been unwelcome to any, whom it was not intended 
to restrain. The alien law, it was said, if limited to aliens, was 
an exclusion of suffering patriots from the only asylum left to 
them on earth. This was odious enough, to be sure. But to 
make a law which prevented the free citizens of the United States 
from discussing the conduct and character of their own servants, 
and the nature of their public acts, was utterly intolerable. The 
complainants made no account of the fact, that punishment could 
not be inflicted under this law, but through the agency of a grand 
jury, in the first place ; and then by the result of a trial by jurors, 
impartially selected from among the people. They disregarded, 
or knew not, how important a change was made of the English 
law of libel, then in force, by this very law, in the provision 
therein contained, that it should be lawful for the defendant to give 
in evidence the truth of the matter contained in the publication, 
charged as a libel ; and that the jury should have the right to de- 
termine the law, and the fact, under the direction of the court. 

There can be no stronger proof of the delusion which prevailed, 
than is found in the clamor against this law, from one end of the 
Union to the other. Intelligent American citizens joined in this 
'•lamor, and some eminent men of the opposition gave their able 
pport to it. An alien, by the name of James Thompson Cal- 
ender, was indicted under this law for the publication of a book, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 161 

entitled "The Prospect before Us," comprising a series of calum- 
nies and libels against the measures of the government. Calen- 
der was convicted at Richmond, in May, 1800, on trial before 
Judge Chase. The manner of this trial constituted one article of 
impeachment against this magistrate. It was said, that Mr. 
Jefferson knew of this publication, before it appeared, and approved 
of it. However this may be, Mr. Jefferson admits, in a letter to Mr. 
Monroe, (vol. iii. p. 494,) that he knew Callender, and considered 
him "a man of science fled from persecution," and that he con- 
tributed to his relief. He afterwards contributed a second time ; 
and gave him fifty dollars as a third relief; and again fifty dollars. 
Mr. Jefferson says, that Callender then asked the office of Post- 
master at Richmond, which being refused, Callender became his 
enemy; and published, that Mr. Jefferson helped him to print his 
book. 

Whether a sedition law was necessary or not, may be judged 
of from these extracts from Callender's "Prospect before Us." 
"The reign of Mr. Adams has been one continued tempest of 
malignant passions. He has never opened his lips, or lifted his 
pen, without threatening and scolding. Mr. Adams has labored, 
with melancholy success, to break up the bonds of social affec- 
tion." "Adams and Washington have since been shaping a 
series of these paper jobbers, into judges and ambassadors, as 
their whole courage lies in want of shame. These poltroons, 
without risking a manly and intelligent defence of their own mea- 
sures, raise an affected yelp against the corruption of the French 
Directory ; as if any corruption would be more venal, more noto- 
rious, more execrated than their own." "Mr. Adams has only 
completed the scene of ignominy which Mr. Washington began." 
" By sending these ambassadors to Paris, Mr. Adams, and his 
British faction, designed to do nothing but mischief." " This 
hoary-headed incendiary (Adams) this libeller of the Governor 
of Virginia, bawls out, to arms! then to arms! " " He is not an 
object of envy, but of compassion and horror." " When a chief 
magistrate is, both in his speeches and newspapers, constantly 

14* 



162 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

reviling France, he cannot expect, nor desire, to live long in peace 
with her." "Take your choice, then, between Adams, war and 
beggary; and Jefferson, peace and competency." These are 
only a small portion of similar expressions, which " The Prospect 
before Us" contains. 

This unfortunate disagreement between this " man of science" 
and Mr. Jefferson, did not, probably, occur until the latter became 
President ; because one of Mr. Jefferson's first official acts was 
the release of Callender from prison. The reason which Mr. Jef- 
ferson gives for this interposition, is a remarkable one ; it is con- 
tained in a letter to George Hay, Esq. (in vol. iv. p. 75, written 
while Burr was on trial,) which shows how Mr. Jefferson construed 
constitutional power. He says, "In the cases of Callender and 
►thers, the judges determined the sedition act was valid, under the 
constitution ; and exercised their regular powers of sentencing 
them to fine and imprisonment. But the executive," (that is, 
Thomas Jefferson,) " determined that the sedition act was a nullity, 
under the constitution, and exercised his regular power of prohibit- 
ing the execution of the sentence, or rather of executing the real 
J aw, which protected the acts of the defendants. From these differ- 
nt constructions of the same act, by different branches, less mis- 
•hief arises than from giving any one of them a control over the 
•thers." Thus it is seen that Mr. Jefferson asserted the right of 
declaring any law a nullity, although the judicial power, which has 
the exclusive constitutional right to decide, had determined other- 
wist.'. This was not a perversion on his part, but was his notion of 
right and wrong. Duane, or Bache, it is not recollected which, (both 
of whom published papers of which Mr. Jefferson approved,) was 
one of the " others " to whom Mr. Jefferson alludes. This editor was 
under an indictment, at the suggestion of the Senate, for a libel 
hi that body. M r. J efferson ordered this prosecution to be dropped, 
as soon as he became President. He also ordered the marshal of 
Virginia to pay back to Callender the fine of two hundred dollars 
imposed on him; though Mr. Jeiferson might as lawfully have 
irdered the whole contents of the treasury to be paid to him. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 163 

The expediency, and even the necessity of the alien and sedition 
laws, cannot be doubted by any reasonable man, in the condition 
of the country at the close of the last century. Unless the people 
of the United States were disposed to see their own government, 
and their own public officers, submitted to the dominion of foreign 
and internal combinations, such laws ought to have had their re- 
spect and approbation. There may have been some provisions 
in these laws, which were inexpedient; that of vesting certain 
powers in the President, may be thought so. It would have saved 
him from some odium, perhaps, if the power to order aliens out of 
the country had been vested in some judicial officers. It is not 
obvious how the President was to acquire that knowledge of facts 
which would enable him to exercise his powers without oppression. 
It was an authority which an executive officer could hardly desire ; 
and one which subsequent experience of official aptitudes would not 
incline one to see renewed. These were perilous days, originating 
in the distempered state of Europe ; and it is to be hoped that the 
like will not recur from such or any other cause. 

Among other legislative movements in the summer of 1798, 
was a proposition made by Mr. Griswold, (afterwards Governor of 
Connecticut,) to amend the sedition law, by providing for the 
punishment of such persons as interfered in the diplomatic affairs 
of the United States and foreign nations. Early in this year, a 
certain Dr. Logan departed from Philadelphia for Paris, charged 
with a private mission on public affairs to the Directory. By 
whom sent, was no secret. The House addressed the President, 
two to one, on this very serious subject; and a like address passed 
the Senate, with only five dissentients. In this address it is said, 
"We deplore that there are those who call themselves by the 
American name, who have daringly insulted our country, by an 
usurpation of powers not delegated to them, and by an obscure 
interference in our concerns." 

Mr. Jefferson was said, at the time, to have sent Logan to Paris. 
In one of his letters, he answers some inquiry on this subject; and 
says, that the accusation is groundless; that Logan was self-ap- 



164 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

pointed, and that he (Mr. Jefferson) did no more than to give him 
some sort of passport. 



LETTER XXX. 

Mat 17, 1833. 
An act of Congress, re-organizing the judiciary, passed on the 
13th of February, 1801, was considered almost universally, by 
the profession of the law, as a wise and expedient measure. It 
proved to be among the acts of Mr. Adams' administration which 
attracted, especially, Mr. Jefferson's disapprobation. The details 
of this act show it to have been prepared with great ability, and 
of all the objects of vindictive demolition, this, certainly, was 
best entitled to be spared. It divided the United States into six 
circuits, and provided for the appointment of three judges in each, 
leaving the judges of the Supreme Court to exercise power as a 
court of appeals, and for the correction of errors. Between the 
13th of February and the 4th of March, all the judges were ap- 
pointed by Mr. Adams, and the commissions issued. The indi- 
viduals selected for these offices were men of high standing, and 
worthy of all confidence. But the popular cry was set up, and 
the measure vehemently condemned by all the Jeffersonian party. 
The judges were called "the midnight judges of John Adams," 
in allusion to the supposed time of appointment, at the close of 
his official duties. It will hereafter be seen what Mr. Jefferson 
thought of this measure. He said, though one can hardly credit 
that he did so, that he regarded all Mr. Adams' appointments 
after the 14th of February, (while the House of Representatives 
l.alloting for President,) as absolutely void. This must be 
understood to mean, that though Mr. Adams was constitutionally 
President up to the midnight hour of the 3d of March, yet he 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 165 

ousfht to have submitted his will to that of his successor ; and 
should have refrained from carrying an act of Congress into effect 
which might not conform to that will. On the same principle, 
Mr. Jefferson withheld the commissions of certain magistrates, 
whom Mr. Adams had appointed, in the District of Columbia. 
The commissions were made out, and ready for delivery, but Mr. 
Jefferson ordered them to be suppressed. One of these magis- 
trates (Mr. Marbury) applied to the Supreme Court for. a writ of 
mandamus (command) to Mr. Madison, the new President's Secre- 
tary of State, to deliver his commission. But after an able in- 
vestigation of constitutional law, the court did not grant the 
motion. Mr. Jefferson found a commission, duly made out and 
signed by Mr. Adams, appointing a gentleman District Judge in 
Rhode Island. This commission he suppressed, and Mr. Jefferson 
appointed one in whom he could confide. 

Among his friends, President Adams was thought to have ex- 
ercised an indiscreet act of mercy in pardoning one John Fries. 
This person was tried at the Circuit Court of the United States, 
held at Philadelphia in April, 1800, on a charge of treason. 
Samuel Chase, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
and the District Judge, Peters, sat in the trial. 

The "federal" administration of the government of the United 
States terminated with Mr. Adams' four years, on the 4th of 
March, 1801. Whether it would have continued longer, if some 
other man of that party had been Washington's successor, can 
only be matter of conjecture. This may perhaps be admitted, 
that some other man, Thomas Pinckney, for example, might have 
conducted public affairs with more prudence and conciliation. 
Mr. Adams was liable to sudden impressions, and was little in- 
clined to surrender them under the influence of counsel. He felt 
great confidence in the purity and soundness of his own views, 
and thought the good of the country required that they should be 
carried into effect. He failed, probably, in testing his own 
opinions by comparing them with the opinions of other men. 
Such comparison cannot depreciate sound opinions, and may often 



166 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

correct erroneous ones. It may be, that Mr. Adams had some 
tendency to be jealous of those around him, and disposed to ap- 
prehend that they meant to exercise a control, to which it would 
be derogatory to submit. But this apprehension would not prevent 
a dignified inquiry into the sentiments of others ; nor an adherence 
to his own, if they remained unshaken. It may be, too, that Mr. 
Adams over- valued his own services and importance, as a public 
man; and was inclined to be his own counsellor with more per- 
tinacity than became a person of his knowledge and actual ex- 
perience. Whatever may have been his qualities, this is certain, 
that he aided the purposes of his political adversaries, and dis- 
concerted some of his best political friends. It is very possible, 
therefore, that a more discreet man might have continued the 
federal party in power, for another term. But Mr. Jefferson and 
his partisans and newspapers, had made such and so general an 
impression on public opinion, as to demonstrate, that the original 
construction of constitutional powder was not destined to endure. 
The control which a certain class of men, in this country, are 
likely ever to have over a majority, leads to the conclusion, that 
they will always impose on such men, as constituted the federal 
party, the duty of forming an opposition, or of submitting to a 
popular despotism. This, as history proves, again and again, is 
the precursor of real despotism. Such seems to have been man's 
destiny ; and what there is, or may be, to exempt Americans 
from it, is not discerned from any experience hitherto had. 

Taking out of the case Mr. Adams' peculiarities, the measures 
of his four years were honorable and useful to the country; in- 
comparably more so (as will be proved) than those of the next 
eight years. If the purpose of establishing a national constitution 
was, to maintain the honor, dignity and independence of the 
United States with foreign powers; to preserve peace and securi- 
\ within our own limits; to provide for the pure and able 
administration of justice; and to use all the powers delegated as 
rhcy were used the first eight years, that is, for the good of the 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 167 

whole, and not for the benefit of a party, the federal administration 
under Adams accomplished these purposes. 

As to foreign powers : a good understanding was preserved with 
England. A favorable treaty w T as made with Tripoli. The former 
connection with France was annulled, and provision made for 
defending the country, and for maintaining its rights by force. 
These efforts were successful ; hostilities soon ceased, and a favor- 
able convention, or treaty, was effected. The prosecution of the 
war was in a spirit well worthy of the national honor, while it 
continued. The proper measures were adopted to preserve interior 
tranquillity; and to prevent the threatened dominion of deluded, 
or mischievous factions. A faithful performance of duty as to the 
promotion of all those objects which constitute domestic welfare 
and prosperity, is apparent from the various statutes which w r ere 
passed. Among others, there was an act establishing a uniform 
system of bankruptcy, which the Jeffersonian administration per- 
mitted to expire. The naturalization of aliens was placed on a 
rational and safe basis. The judiciary was carefully revised, and 
a system for the administration of justice was arranged, founded 
on the experience of several years, and having a prospective 
bearing on the probable exigencies of the country. The navy 
was advanced and placed on a respectable footing; and has now 
become an object of popular favor. In short, a more energetic, 
pure, and patriotic exercise of constitutional power, could neither 
be expected nor desired. 

But this exercise of the power of government necessarily in- 
volved expense. It was necessary to resort to loans, and to inter- 
nal taxation. These were causes of declamation and reproach; 
and were most faithfully availed of, to make the administration, 
and especially Mr. Adams, odious in popular estimation. Thus 
it appeared then, as it has done ever since, that the adroit and 
cunning who rule the multitude, may do what they will; and 
burden the country to any extent, involve it in hopeless war, and 
pervert all its institutions at their pleasure, and yet, all is well, 
" The friends of the people" can do no wrong. 



168 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER XXXI. 

Mat 21, 1833. 

On the 14th of December, 1799, General Washington died, 
after a short illness. On Friday, the 13th, he had been exposed 
to a lio-ht rain ; and his hair and neck became wet. He followed 
his usual occupations, within his house, during the afternoon and 
evening, without any indisposition. In the following night he was 
affected by a general ague, and with a difficulty in swallowing; 
but no apprehension was then entertained that he was seriously 
ill. At eleven the next day physicians attended, who found all 
their skill was required. The disorder in the throat was seen to 
be an affection of the wind-pipe, usually called the croup. Every 
effort was made to rescue him from the attack, and he patiently 
submitted to all the prescriptions of his attendants. Perceiving, 
before the close of the day, that his recovery was beyond hope, 
he desired to be relieved from any further efforts, and to take his 
position on his bed. There, with perfect calmness and resigna- 
tion, he remarked to a friend that he had known for some time, 
that he was dying, but that he was not afraid to die. At eleven 
o'olock, the same evening, he expired. 

The decease of Washington was apparently a cause of universal 
mourning. That portion of the citizens who had always held him 
in the highest respect and honor, were sincerely mourners, while 
those who had felt his example and influence, to be a restraint 
on their purposes, could join in the general grief with pleasure. 
The most respectful demonstrations of the national loss, were 
everywhere shown. The halls of Congress were hung with 
black, and General Henry Lee, of Virginia, was appointed to 
deliver a eulogy before the House of Representatives. The state 
legislatures expressed their respect for the conduct and character 
of Washington, by appointing orators to commemorate him, or 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 169 

by such other testimonials as the occasion called for. Various 
societies, of which Washington was a member, appointed eulo- 
gists. Fisher Ames and George R. Minot were among the orators 
in Boston. It is worth remarking, that the general sentiment of 
respect and affection for this eminent man was so exalted, that 
few of the orators did, or could, come up to the demand. The 
feeling of these public speakers was, and must have been, that of 
deep veneration, a feeling not adapted to bring forth the touching 
expressions which would be grateful to a numerous audience.* 
Washington's character was rather to be contemplated, than 
talked of. He was to be estimated by comparison with other 
men, and an eulogy does not permit of this. His eminent worth 
was to be found in no one brilliant act, nor in any remarkable 
achievements, but in a whole life of useful, dignified and honor- 
able service. Most of the eulogists were compelled to resort to 
biographical sketches, which do not admit of much eloquence. 
Even Mr. Ames did not succeed, in this effort, so well as the 
undefined expectation of his audience required. The enthusiasm 
of the French better adapts oratory to funeral eulogy, than the 
good sense and sobriety of Englishmen, or Americans. Such 
efforts are rarely attempted in England, though common in 
France. 

In Congress, a resolve was passed to raise a monument in the 
city of Washington, and application was made to Mrs. Washing- 
ton for permission to deposit beneath it the remains of her husband. 
This lady assented. But the resolve itself, is the only monument 
hitherto raised ; and the remains of Washington repose in the 
family tomb at Mount Vernon, and are there to remain, so far as 
can now be discerned. The more lengthened the remove from 
, Washington's lifetime, the less, it is feared, will Washington be 
remembered. Probably a large proportion of the adult popula- 
tion of the United States hardly know who, or what he was ; and 
there may be some voters who know not that there ever was such 
a man. The intelligent people of other countries seem to know 
more of Washington, and to respect his character more, than is com- 
15 



170 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

mon among his own countrymen. His military and civil example, 
and his eminent virtues as a man, have given him a rank in 
foreign estimation, which make man/rind proud of him. If his 
own countrymen have forgotten him, or if certain self-stamped 
patriots so misunderstand his character, as to call themselves his 
disciples, it is grateful to know that the intelligent of other coun- 
tries are better informed. 

It might have been expected, that a grateful nation would have 
demanded of Congress, to adorn the city that bears the name of 
Washington, with such a monument as would illustrate the sense 
of his merits. Since March 4, 1801, that assembly have had too 
much business of their own to attend to, to think much of that 
which is purely public, and free from party. Marshall has raised 
one monument by his able pen. Another is preparing through the 
indefatigable industry of Mr. Sparks. The latter is a judicious 
selection from the voluminous writings of Washington, designed 
to show the state of his own thoughts, in the most eventful and 
interesting periods of his life. Five volumes, the 2d to the 6th, 
have appeared, and are understood to have satisfied the public 
wishes, and to have fully sustained the high reputation of Mr. 
Sparks. But these are monuments for readers. The national 
monument should rise for every eye, and that all who behold it, 
may be reminded of him to whom they are far more indebted, 
than to any other man, for civil liberty ; and which may keep 
alive the desire to know under what circumstances, and for what 
purposes, he lived. The marble is now submitted to the masterly 
genius of Greenough, and the Capitol may be adorned with it in 
time to save the country from the charge of ingratitude.* 

* The statue now stands temporarily in the Rotunda of the Capitol at Wash- 
ington. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 171 



LETTER XXXII. 

Mat 27, 1833. 

Mr. Jefferson left the office of Secretary of State, December 
31, 1793, and remained at Monticello, till called to the Vice 
Presidency, in March, 1797; although in retirement, he was not 
inattentive to the transactions at the seat of government. The 
proof of this is found in the letter written by him to an Italian, 
named Mazzei, under date of 24th of April, 1796. This Ital- 
ian had come over to America, under the expectation of being 
able to cultivate the vine in Virginia, and had chosen Mr. Jeffer- 
son's neighborhood for his purpose. An intimacy appears to 
have grown up ; and Mazzei having returned to Florence, Mr. 
Jefferson wrote to him, as may be presumed, in the utmost con- 
fidence; and discloses his own views of Washington's adminis- 
tration. This letter appears to have been carefully, not to say 
studiedly, written. Whether the writer intended it should be 
published or not, it is not easy to decide. Perhaps he intended it 
should be, and to take the good or evil of the publication. Its 
contents, when compared with the animadversions which appeared 
in Freneau's paper, and also in Bache's, very clearly prove, that 
these must have had Mr. Jefferson's hearty concurrence. This 
letter was published in the Moniteur of Paris, on the 25th of Jan- 
uary, 1798, with many commentaries. Thence it came to this 
country, and was published here. It excited great attention 
among both parties. The partisans of Mr. Jefferson were not so 
far devoted to France, as to relish so unqualified a denunciation 
of the administration of their own country. They had no re- 
source but to consider it a malignant forgery, designed to dispa- 
rage Mr. Jefferson. From him, nothing was heard on the subject. 
The federal party had no doubt of the authenticity of the letter. 
They understood well, the views and purposes of this gentleman, 



172 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and saw in this letter a perfect accordance therewith. The let- 
ter was as follows :* 

(From the Paris Moniteur, a French official paper, of the 2bth of 
January, 1798.f) 

" Monticello, April 24, 1796. 
" Dear Sir, 

" Our political situation is prodigiously changed since you left 
us4 Instead of that noble love of liberty, and that republican 
government, which carried us through the dangers of the war, an 
Anglo-Monarchic-Aristocratic party has arisen. Their avowed 
object is to impose on us the substance, as they have already given 
us the form, of the British government. Nevertheless, the prin- 
cipal body of our citizens remain faithful to republican principles, 
and also the men of talents. We have against us (republicans) the 
Executive power and the Judiciary; (two of the three branches 
of our government;) all the officers of government, all who 
are seeking for offices, all timid men who prefer the calm of des- 
potism to the tempestuous sea of liberty; the British merchants, 
and the Americans who trade on British capital, the speculators, 
persons interested in the bank and public funds: [Establish- 
ments invented with views of corruption, and to assimilate us to 
the British model, in its corrupt parts.] 

* Since this pa^e was written, a very able analysis of Mr. Jefferson's attempts to 
explain away this Mazzei letter, has appeared in the "History of the Hartford Con- 
raatk>n,"by Theodore D wight; seepages 23 to 25. This attempt at explanation 
published in Mr. Jefferson's lifetime, but is found in his volumes. Whoever 
Hi I >v. ight's analysis will be satisfied, that Mr. Jeffersons effort on this occa- 
sion, to preserve bisfameasa fair, plain-dealing man, has been very far from success- 
ful; and thai if he intended his letter should find its way to the press, he made a 
blunder; and if he did not,he was chagrined by the publication. 
f This letter, literally translated, is addressed to Mazzei, author of Researches, 

al and Political, upon the United States of America, resident in Tuscany. 
J li does not appear when Mazzei came, nor when he left the United States. 
It is probable, from the tenorof this letter, thai both these events happened before 

' n titution. If so, it shows that Mr. Jefferson | 
condition antecedenl to the adoption. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 173 

"I should give you a fever if I should name the apostates who 
have embraced these heresies, men who were Solomons in council, 
and Samsons in combat, but whose hair has been cut off by the 
whore of England. They would wrest from us that liberty, which 
we have obtained by so much labor and peril ; but we shall pre- 
serve it. Our mass of weight and riches is so powerful, that we 
have nothing to fear from any attempt against us by force. It is 
sufficient that we guard ourselves, and that we break the Lilli- 
putian ties by which they have bound us, in the first slumbers 
that succeeded our labors. It suffices that we arrest the progress 
of that system of ingratitude and injustice towards France, from 
which they would alienate us, to bring us under British influ- 
ence." 

It is obvious, that in 1796, while Mr. Jefferson was a private 
citizen, he had no means of keeping himself in view, but by 
private conversation and correspondence. This letter, compared 
with others of his, seems to have been written for effect; the con- 
cluding paragraph, especially, was adapted to the meridian of 
Paris, and there it may have been intended to go, and there it did 
go. Would any gentleman have ventured to make such a letter 
public, without some intimation from the writer, that such use of 
it would be agreeable to him ? 

Yet it seems that the publication of this letter greatly discon- 
certed Mr. Jefferson. He shows his trouble in a communication to 
his friend, Mr. Madison. Now as Mr. Jefferson takes the greatest 
pains to prove that he always retained the good will of Washing- 
ton, whose honorable fame he had not been able to demolish, but 
had found it necessary to sustain his own by showing that Wash- 
ington thought well of him, it was indiscreet to publish this letter 
to Mr. Madison. In truth, it is wonderful that Mr. Jefferson should 
have prepared such matters for publication as his volumes contain ; 
more wonderful, that his surviving friends should have published 
from his own pen, a confirmation of all the political blunders 
which federalists charged him with. Nor of such blunders only; 
for as to the true character of the man, these volumes contain the 

15* 



J74 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

proof of facts, which, but for them, would have rested much on 
probability and inference. In this letter to Mr. Madison, (August 
3 1797, vol. iii. p. 363,) after an ingenious commentary on what 
he did mean in his letter to Mazzei, he says, "Now it would be 
impossible for me to explain this publicly, without bringing on a 
personal difference between General Washington and myself, which 
nothing before the publication of this letter, has ever done. It 
would embroil me also, with all those with whom his character is 
still popular, that is to say, with nine-tenths of the United States. 
And what good would be done by avowing the letter with the 
necessary explanations? Very little, indeed, in my opinion, to 
counterbalance a great deal of harm. From my silence, in this 
instance, it cannot be inferred, that I am afraid to own the general 
sentiments of the letter. If I am subject to either imputation it is 
to avowing such sentiments too frankly, both in private and pub- 
lic, often when there is no necessity for it, merely because I 
disdain everything like duplicity. Still, however, I am open 
to conviction. Think for me on the occasion, and advise me what 
to do, and confer with Colonel Monroe on the subject." 

It does not appear that these two counsellors were able to relieve 
their friend from his distress; though it does appear that he never 
afterwards ventured to see Washington, or went to Mount Vernon 
but once afterwards, and then for the purpose of weeping at his 
tomb. 

It is probable that Mr. Jefferson felt the full weight of the 
embarrassment, of reconciling this Mazzei letter with his solemn 
declarations in the Senate chamber; and with his oath there taken, 
that he would support the same constitution, notwithstanding he 
told Mazzei that it was Lilliputian ties, and the substance and 
the form of the British government. These declarations were 
made, and this oath taken, within a year before this letter was 
published in the United States, and within a year after that letter 
was written. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 175 



Extract from the Inaugural Address of Mr. Jefferson, when inducted into the office 
of Vice President of the United States, March 4th, 1 797. 

"I might here proceed, and with the greatest truth, to de- 
clare my zealous attachment to the constitution of the United States ; 
that I consider the Union of these states as the first of blessings ; 
and as the first of duties, the preservation of that constitution which 
secures it; but I suppose these declarations not pertinent to the 
occasion of entering into an office whose primary business is 
merely, to preside over the forms of this House ; and no one more 
sincerely prays, that no accident may call me to the higher, and 
more important function, which the constitution eventually de- 
volves on this office. These have been justly confided to the 
eminent character who has preceded me here, whose talents and 
integrity have been known and revered by me, through a long course 
of years; have been the foundation of a cordial and uninterrupted 
friendship between us ; and I devoutly pray he may be long pre- 
served for the government, the happiness, and prosperity of our 
common country." 

Now compare these sentiments with the real ones entertained 
by Mr. Jefferson, concerning the constitution and Mr. Adams, as 
confidentially expressed in Mr. Jefferson's volumes, and the true 
character of the man, in public and in private, stands forth, 
stripped of all masks and disguises. "But, (say Jefferson's 
partisans,) admit all these facts ; call them contrivances, duplici- 
ties and frauds, if you will ; did not Jefferson demolish federal- 
ism /" He did. But the question is, did he do good to his 
country by that; or only to his party? If only to the latter, (if 
good it can be called,) do the members of his party approve the 
means which he used ? If they do, they should not claim for Mr. 
Jefferson sentiments due only to the just and pure. It may ap- 
pear, on further examination of Mr. Jefferson's public life, that no 
man has lived in the United States who has done so much to be 
lamented as has been done by him. It may appear, that he did no 
good even to his party, if they are intelligent and worthy citizens 



176 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

of a free republic. The good which Mr. Jefferson did for himself 
may be tested by this: Who would have had that good, and that 
character of himself, which Mr. Jefferson has published and sub- 
mitted to the world? 

When Mr. Jefferson came to Philadelphia, in March, 1797, he 
was about fifty-four years of age. His personal appearance, as 
now recollected, was this : He was a tall man, over six feet in 
stature ; neither full nor thin in body. His limbs were long, and 
loosely jointed. His hair was of a reddish tinge, combed loosely 
over the forehead and at the sides, and tied behind. His com- 
plexion was light or sandy. His forehead rather high and 
broad. His eyebrows long and straight ; his eyes blue, his 
cheek-bones high, his face broad beneath his eyes, his chin long 
and his mouth large. His dress was a black coat and light 
under-clothes. He had no polish of manners, but a simplicity 
and sobriety of deportment. He was quiet and unobtrusive, and 
yet a stranger would perceive, that he was in the presence of one 
who was not a common man. His manner of conversing was 
calm and deliberate, and free from all gesticulation; but he spoke 
like one who considered himself entitled to deference ; and as 
though he measured what he said by some standard of self-com- 
placency. The expression of his face was that of thoughtful ness 
and observation ; and, certainly, not that of openness and frankness. 
When speaking, he did not look at his auditor, but cast his eyes 
towards the ceiling, or anywhere but at the eye of his listener. 
He had already become a personage of some distinction, and an 
object of curiosity, even to a very young man. These personal 
descriptions are from memory, after the lapse of many years, and 
may not accord with those of persons who had more and better 
opportunities to observe ; and are not, therefore, offered with con- 
fidence, that Mr. Jefferson is here, in all respects, justly described. 

During his vice-presidency, Mr. Jefferson was employed, as 
usual for that officer, in the Senate. It does not appear that the 
Vice President was ever called to cabinet meetings in Washing- 
ton's time; or that Mr. Jefferson was ever called to such meetings 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 177 

in the presidency of Mr. Adams, or advised with by him in any 
way. One of his volumes shows that he continued his corre- 
spondence, especially with Mr. Madison, who was carefully ad- 
vised of congressional proceedings. Of his letters, Mr. Jefferson 
must have kept copies, (which is not supposed to be a common 
practice in familiar correspondence,) perhaps with intention to 
make them public, as be has done. This is an unusual course, 
because the parties written to have an interest in that matter. 
Mr. Madison, Mr. Giles, Mr. Monroe, Dr. Rush and others, de- 
rive no benefit from the publication of Mr. Jefferson's letters to 
them. He compiled a small volume of rules, for the government 
of the Senate. It is called Jefferson's Manual, and is a work of 
authority, and much respected. 

The very "great services" which he rendered in these four 
years, (as stated on his application to the Virginia legislature for 
leave to sell his estate by lottery,) in "making head against fede- 
ralism," are not recorded in his copies of letters of his time, as 
one naturally expects to find them to have been. Nor are these 
"services" specially noticed as having been rendered within this 
time, though he considers them (on the occasion before mentioned) 
as the most important achievement of his political life. In this, 
as in some other instances, there is some ground for suspecting 
Mr. Jefferson of having resorted to after thoughts, when it was 
convenient to do so, to meet present emergencies. Whether this 
was so, or not, readers will have an opportunity to form their own 
opinions. 

It is to be remembered, that this is not an attack, but a defence ; 
and that in defending, it is indispensable to show Mr. Jefferson's 
own character, as disclosed by himself. 



178 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER XXXIII. 

June 1, 1833. 

No man has appeared in the United States in the last fifty years, 
whose character, public and private, has been so differently esti- 
mated as that of Thomas Jefferson. By some persons he has 
been considered as one of the most pure, amiable, dignified, wise 
and patriotic of men. By others he has been considered, as re- 
markably defective in the qualities which dignify and adorn hu- 
man life ; and as one of the worst men, and most wrong-headed 
statesmen that ever lived. As Mr. Jefferson was neither a mili- 
tary man, nor an orator, nor public speaker at all, and had only, 
as means of influencing others, conversation and his pen, he 
acquired an astonishing ascendancy over the American people. 
Readers will judge for themselves, which of these parties was 
right, and which was wrong. The present object is to exhibit 
Mr. Jefferson as he has seen fit to exhibit himself, taking the pro- 
duct of his own pen as the principal guide. He is his own volun- 
tary witness ; and it is an inflexible rule, that every man makes 
the best of his own case ; and that no evidence is so strong as 
one's own admissions. Mr. Jefferson employed himself in pre- 
paring the materials for a work, which he intended to have pub- 
lished to the world. He so employed himself, not in the hurry of 
the official scenes in which he had been long engaged; but in the 
calmness of retired life ; with the benefit of retrospection, and 
with the consciousness that he had a defence to make. If not so, 
then with the belief that he deserved a better fame, than might 
be allowed to him, if he did not plead his own cause. 

Before Mr. Jefferson is judged of, on the evidence which he has 
furnished himself, it may be proper to recognize some rules to be 
applied in estimating character. There are certain qualities 
which entitle a man to his own self-respect. He desires to be 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 179 

considered, by others, as having these qualities. Among these 
are, regard for the truth ; for no man endures the charge of men- 
dacity. Every one desires to be considered honest; for, to be 
even suspected of dishonesty, is to lose all just pretensions to es- 
teem in the social relations of life. A gentleman desires to be 
considered as above all propensity to abuse the confidence, which 
the common intercourse of society requires. That which men ex- 
press in the friendly and social circle, in the fulness of the heart, 
and without a suspicion of malicious use of what is so expressed, 
and with a certainty of freedom from all deliberative misrepre- 
sentation, is ever held, by gentlemen, to be sacred. If this were 
not so, the intercommunication of thought must be excluded from 
social life, and every one must speak as though in the presence of 
his enemies. Among well-informed and polished men, there is 
a rule which approaches near to the golden rule, "Do as you 
would be done by," even though one feels no respect for the au- 
thority from which it comes. There is a class of high-minded 
men in society, who add to the acknowledged law of honor, the 
sanction of Christian duty, which demands candor, charity, for- 
bearance ; and who consider the rule, above mentioned, as in- 
tended to be the best which can be prescribed, because it is 
founded in the human heart. 

Statesmen in a republic, who are called to the performance of 
a public trust, are presumed to know, that they undertake such 
trust, under a very solemn obligation, to execute it according to 
prescribed rules. They may misunderstand these rules ; if they 
do, they have not the capacity which the trust implies. They 
may misapply these rules ; if so, they have not the intelligence 
which they assumed to have, when they bound themselves to ob- 
serve them. They may intentionally pervert these rules, or sub- 
stitute their own will for them ; if so, they are false and fraudu- 
lent. As all men in office are merely agents for constituents, 
they are held to account for capacity, intelligence, and fidelity. 
While they live, their constituents have the remedy of finding 
worthier agents, by the peaceable remedy of elections. When 



180 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

they have passed away, there is no earthly tribunal but that of 
public opinion. No man, not even the malefactor who dies by 
the halter, is regardless of what will be said of him, when he is 
dead. This sensibility is, doubtless, one of the provisions of 
man's Creator, to keep him in the path of his duties. 

There must always be two classes of public men in a free 
elective government. One of them holds political and social life, 
to be ordained by the Deity ; that man's natural propensities and 
wants, properly regulated, were intended to prompt him to secure 
to himself the greatest good which he can have ; that the estab- 
lishment of wise rules, and the faithful observance of them, in all 
social and political relations, secure to rulers and to the ruled, the 
best condition which they can have. This class also holds, that 
all official station is a mere trust, to be executed wisely and hon- 
estly for the common welfare. Those who are called to this trust, 
hope for the esteem and respect of their constituents ; if they fail 
to obtain these, they cannot be deprived of the consciousness of 
having deserved them. But, even for this class of public men, 
there cannot be claimed an exemption from errors, incident to 
human nature. 

The other class see in human society, only the means of satis- 
fying the worst cravings of the human heart. They seek domin- 
ion, not for the common welfare, but for themselves. They use 
the rules established for the general good to secure that dominion. 
They know that they must have adversaries in the first mentioned 
class, and in all who support that class. These adversaries, col- 
lectively and individually, must be traduced, calumniated, and 
made odious. To their leaders must be denied talents and integ- 
rity. They must be accused of the basest designs. The sove- 
reign people must be made to believe these criminations. To this 
end, any fraud, cunning, perversion, or machination, is justifiable. 
Private intercommunication, the public press, assuming to be 
friends and protectors of the people against their enemies, and to 
be the mere instruments of executing a popular will, which they 
create themselves, are the well-known means. Why should not 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 181 

not the great mass of the community be deceived by such means? 
They hear and read, only as these crafty politicians order. Why 
should they not believe what their best friends tell them for truths ? 
To what an anxious, miserable servitude do these politicians con- 
demn themselves! Some of them prosper, it is true, to the end 
of life; but in general, they are found out, and they close their 
career with sorrow and disgrace. 

Among this great political class, there are prominent men, who 
have acquired the sincere belief, (from the habit of contemplating 
the acts, and designs of adversaries, in peculiar lights,) that the 
country cannot be safe in any hands but their own. They see 
through a distorting medium, but are honest in their views. Then 
there is a portion who are sincerely republican, as they understand 
the matter, who feel, rather than reason, on the political system, 
and who are liable to great mistakes. Then there is the class 
who misunderstand the meaning of "liberty and equality," and 
the order of society ; and who think any order must be wrong, 
which does not place them in positions as desirable as those 
which they see others to have. Then there are the master 
spirits who know how to excite, regulate and control all these 
classes. To this combination, add the leaven of party feeling, 
made up of hopes and fears, partialities and enmities, confidence 
and jealousy, ambition and avarice, and one comes to the domi- 
nant power in most popular governments. This power vehe- 
mently maintains, in words, the excellence of civil liberty ; and 
conducts, by acts, inevitably to despotism. To this condition 
Americans seem to be hastening, notwithstanding they have the 
advantages of schools, means of instruction, and a free press. 

At first view, it strikes one with astonishment, that the great 
mass of citizens, who suffer most from the errors of ignorant 
rulers, or the frauds of dishonest ones, should sustain and applaud 
both of these classes of politicians. But one ought rather to be 
astonished, that a government which is conducted merely on party 
dominion, has continued as long as it has. Let any man examine 
into the true state of information in any city, town, or village, in 
16 



182 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the United States, and satisfy himself as to the sources of informa- 
tion which he finds there ; and he cannot wonder at the opinions 
which are prevalent, nor doubt as to the motives by which they 
are imparted. He may lament, as he will, that such opinions 
exist, but he can no more change them by stating truths, than he 
can change the stature of those who entertain them, by wishing 
to do it. The great mass of voters are not to be reproached for 
their errors in judgment, as to men, or measures. For, to the 
natural impatience and proneness to complain, which mankind 
have, under almost any government, is to be added the unceasing 
effort of the "people's friends" to teach that, and that only, which 
they desire to have this mass believe to be true. 

Whether Mr. Jefferson belonged to the honorable, high-minded, 
and intelligent order of statesmen, or to the managing, contriving, 
and unprincipled class of politicians, it is not assumed to decide. 
But it is intended so to arrange the materials, (furnished by him- 
self,) for forming a judgment, as to enable others to decide for 
themselves. There is no reason why Mr. Jefferson should be 
exempted from appearing before that tribunal at which he has 
arraigned so many of his eminent countrymen. Is there (to use 
one of Mr. Jefferson's favorite words) a sacrosanct protection, or 
panoply for him and for no other man? If so, is it found in his 
virtues, in his example, in his science, in his philosophy, in his 
religion, in his public services, his political wisdom and fidelity ? 
Let Mr. Jefferson speak for himself. But why should the repose 
of the dead be disturbed ? If Mr. Jefferson had lived out his 
term, and left his fame to history, as Washington, Jay, Adams, 
and others have done, he would not have been now a subject of 
commentary. If he had left for publication his claims to the 
respect and gratitude of his countrymen, without interfering with 
the like claims of other men, history would have only to deal with 
him, as with other men. 

But when it comes to this, that in striving to uphold and honor 
his own fame, he attempts to deprive all his cotemporaries, who 
were not of his own school, not only of the ordinary respect and 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 183 

consideration to which men in public life may be supposed entitled, 
but to brand them as conspirators and traitors, is he to go unan- 
swered? If it be said that history will do justice, will it not also 
be asked, where were the survivors of those who were charged 
with misdemeanors and crimes ? Where were their sons and 
descendants? "Why were they silent in their time? Have they 
not pleaded guilty, by their silence, to all the criminations of Mr. 
Jefferson, both as to themselves, and their fathers? 

It is not to present Mr. Jefferson in unfavorable lights, that 
these pages concerning him are written; but to show the true 
value of his testimony against others. If he had left the federal- 
ists to be judged of, when he left the earth, without his testimony 
against them, they would have had no cause of complaint against 
him. His public acts, and their public acts, remain recorded. 
These would have been examined, as the proper authorities, for 
the estimation of his merits, and of their merits, as public agents. 
The bitterness of party feeling, the personalities and enmities of 
adversaries, would not have appeared in these records. Time 
would have obliterated all memory of them. It is, then, a sur- 
prising and sorrowful fact, that a retired President of the United 
States should have gathered the memoranda of his own unkind 
feelings, the tattle of his associates, the hearsay of excited parti- 
sans, the minutes of private and confidential intercourse among 
guests invited to his own table, and dignify them with the title of 
"Memoirs and Writings of Thomas Jefferson!" This would 
only have been the subject of regret and pity, if it could be so 
understood in distant times, as it, probably, now is, by a great 
majority of all who have read these writings. But these writings 
will continue, and may be considered true, when those mentioned 
in them will not be known as they were known while they lived. 
It is then a duty, and one of which the performance is demanded 
by truth, justice and patriotism, to weigh the worth of Mr. Jeffer- 
son's testimony. 

In contemplation of his posthumous work, Mr. Jefferson says, 
under date apparently of February 14th, 1818, (vol. iv. p. 443,) 



284 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

"At this day, after the lapse of twenty-five years or more, from 
their dates, I have given to the whole a calm revisal, when the 
passions of the time have passed away, and the reasons of the 
transactions act alone on the judgment. Some of the informations 
I had recorded, are now cut out from the rest, because I have 
seen that they were incorrect, or doubtful, or merely personal, or 
private; with which we have nothing to do." We are, therefore, 
to take all that Mr. Jefferson retains to be correct, free from doubt, 
and neither personal nor private ; and also to be that which Mr. 
Jefferson intended for the world after "calm revisal." 



LETTER XXXIV. 

June 5, 1833. 

The perusal of Mr. Jefferson's writings raises the very difficult 
question, What was his motive for preparing them, and leaving 
them for publication ? 

Did the writer, in this case, mean only to vindicate himself 
against aspersions made in his lifetime ; or against calumnies 
which might arise after he was gone ? Did he mean to arrogate 
to himself pre-eminent merit, as a citizen and statesman? If so, 
was it necessary to his purpose to deny all merit to cotempora- 
neous adversaries ? Was it necessary to impute to these adver- 
saries deliberate wickedness, long cherished and persevered in ? 
If he thought such a course necessary or proper, how should it 
have happened that he so managed the matter as to have fur- 
nished to these adversaries, all the proofs which they could desire, 
of the errors and wrongs which they had imputed to him ? 

The only candid answer that can be given to such inquiries is, 
that Mr. Jefferson entertained very erroneous opinions of himself, 
and of others, and of the nature of society. It is the more to be 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 185 

regretted, both for himself and his country, if he was perfectly 
sincere in what he said and did ; and believed himself to be what 
he professed to be. From his self-education, and the course of 
his studies, from the natural turn of his mind, his perceptions of 
his fellow men, and of the natural and necessary laws of society, 
it is probable that he had formed rules of right and wrong, adverse 
to those commonly received. It is also probable, that Mr. Jeffer- 
son did not always respect the rules of moral action, which those 
who live according to Christian precepts, are supposed to observe. 
It was doubtful, at least, before Mr. Jefferson's books appeared, 
whether he had any sound opinions on civil government ; and 
whether he understood the true meaning of the political institu- 
tions under which he lived. His books have had no tendency to 
affect these doubts favorably to him ; certainly none to prove, that 
he was wise and useful in his application of the rules, which the 
supreme law of the land prescribed to him. 

Whatever Mr. Jefferson may have said of constitutional rules, 
he thought himself under no obligation to observe them, whenever 
he found them inconsistent with his own views of expediency. 
He supposed a deliberate and solemn establishment of a form of 
government, intended by one generation for their own welfare, 
and that of all succeeding ones, until changed with the like 
solemnities, bound only the generation by which it was established. 
Selected to be the chief ruler by the people, he was the proper 
organ for expressing their will, "Lilliputian ties" notwithstand- 
ing. Even in this political latitudinarianism, if he did not like 
the motive which he had assigned for any act done by him, he 
was at liberty to assign any other, adapted to a present exigency. 
If Mr. Jefferson's writings show that such were his opinions, it 
does not necessarily follow that he was intentionally wrong. It 
only shows that such was the character of the man. How far he 
has maintained his claim to the respect and gratitude of his 
countrymen, as "the great and good Mr. Jefferson," is quite 
another matter. 

16* 



186 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

With no part of Mr. Jefferson's life, before he became an agent 
for the United States, is it intended to interfere. His services to 
his native state, his fellow citizens there will estimate. At the 
age of forty-one, (in 1784,) he departed from the United States, 
to represent his country at the French Court. He had, before 
that time, written his " Notes on Virginia," in which he had ex- 
pressed some opinions tending to show, that he might be pre- 
pared to regard with complacency, the doctrines which prevailed 
among certain philosophers. These men, (Voltaire, Rousseau, 
D'Alembert, Diderot, and others,) as is well known from their 
lives and writings, had expressed a total disregard of some pre- 
cepts, which other men, commonly reputed to be wise and virtuous, 
held in high respect. While he was there, the French Revolu- 
tion began ; and it is in nowise discreditable to Mr. Jefferson, that 
he expected from it a political and social renovation, which no 
country could be more in need of than France. In this ferment- 
ing region, Mr. Jefferson remained until the close of 1789, and 
then came home. Meanwhile the national government had been 
established, and he had been invited, by President Washington, 
to take the place of Secretary of State, which he did, at New 
York, on the 22d of March, 1790. 

Mr. Jefferson had never approved of the constitution. He 
came into place with an honest and decided dislike of some of its 
powers. He came in also, with an equally honest and inveterate 
hostility to England ; and with a zealous devotion to the revolu- 
tionary measures of France. He had, no doubt, such recollection 
of English measures during the war, and while he was governor 
of Virginia, as may have been a full justification, in his own mind, 
for all the opinions which he entertained. The necessity, and the 
utility, of the changes going on in France, were also sober convic- 
tions. Many other men, quite as honest and clear-sighted as Mr. 
Jefferson, thought as he did, as to France, at that time. Whether 
he carried into public policy his hostility towards one nation, and 
his affectionate attachment to another, so thoroughly as to lose all 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 187 

consideration for the interests of his own country, is a question on 
which there were two opinions among his countrymen. 

Mr. Jefferson found Alexander Hamilton at the head of the 
treasury, Henry Knox at the head of the war department, and 
Edmund Randolph, Attorney General, and these persons, with 
himself, were the constitutional advisers of the President. It is 
probable that this selection was made to inspire confidence in the 
administration. Hamilton was much esteemed in the state of 
New York, wherein there was a strong minority against the con- 
stitution. Knox was highly esteemed in Massachusetts, where 
there was also a strong minority. From Virginia, where the like 
opposition was vehemently manifested, it was perhaps deemed 
expedient to take two members of the cabinet, both of them men 
of distinction, and one of them eminently so ; and both of them 
well known to have been adverse to the constitution. It may 
have been the intention of the President to have, in his councils, 
both sides of the case. 

It is well proved, that from the beginning Mr. Jefferson and 
Colonel Hamilton had very different views of expediency ; equally 
well proved, that these gentlemen became personally opposed, if 
not personal enemies, and so much so as to call for the interfer- 
ence of the President to attempt a reconciliation. Here may, 
perhaps, be found one of the causes of the political conduct of 
Mr. Jefferson, and some of his motives for the declarations as to 
Hamilton, which appear in Mr. Jefferson's writings. 

The reproach which Mr. Jefferson, again and again, casts upon 
Hamilton is, that he was a monarchist, and devoted to the British 
interest. At the distance of more than thirty years from the 
time in which the scenes, which he discloses, occurred, and more 
than twenty years after Hamilton was dead, Mr. Jefferson intended 
the publication of the casual confidential remarks of Hamilton, 
with such coloring, probably, as may have best suited his pur- 
pose. The point on which Mr. Jefferson seems to have founded 
Hamilton's political turpitude, was the proposal, and the support, 
of the "funding system," and the bank. This appears to have 



188 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

been considered by Mr. Jefferson, as a corrupt design to assimi- 
late the government of the United States to that of England, and 
gradually to introduce the political system of that country. The 
following are some of the many similar passages which are found 
in Mr. Jefferson's books, as published since his decease : 

Vol. iv. p. 450. " Hamilton was not only a monarchist, but 
for a monarchy bottomed on corruption." 

Same page. While Washington was absent, Jefferson invited 
the members of the cabinet and Mr. Adams to dine with him, to 
consult on Genet's movements. After dinner Mr. Adams said, 
"Purge the (British) constitution of its corruption, and give to its 
popular branch equality of representation, and it would be the 
most perfect constitution ever devised by the wit of man." Ham- 
ilton said, " Purge it of its corruption, and give to its popular 
branch equality of representation, and it w T ould become an im- 
practicable government. As it stands, at present, w T ith all its 
supposed defects, it is the most perfect government that ever ex- 
isted." Mr. Jefferson adds, "Hamilton w r as, indeed, a singular 
character. Of acute understanding, disinterested, honest and 
honorable in all private transactions, amiable in society, and 
duly valuing virtue in private life ; yet so bewitched and pervert- 
ed by the British example, as to be under thorough conviction, that 
corruption was essential to the government of a nation." 

Page 474. " Mr. Butler tells me, that he dined last winter in 
company with Hamilton and others. Hamilton declared openly, 
that there was no stability, no security, in any kind of govern- 
ment but a monarchy." 

Page 503. December 27, 1797. " Tench Coxe tells me, that 
a little before Hamilton went out of office," (nearly three years 
before,) Hamilton said, "For my part I avow myself a monarch- 
ist ; I have no objection to a trial being made of this thing called 
a republic, but, &e." 

There are many similar records of Hamilton, in this volume. 
This gentleman may have entertained speculative opinions on 
government. He may have supposed, that his own countrymen 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 189 

would not be able to carry on a republic. He may have believed 
if he had lived to the present day, that he was actually a subject 
of something like despotic rule, with the apparent approbation of 
a majority of the people. Under what circumstances, and with 
what qualifications, these opinions were uttered, Mr. Jefferson 
does not make known, nor does it appear to have been material 
to his purpose to have known. 

There are, in this volume, numerous remarks concerning Mr. 
Adams, apparently intended to make his fame odious to posterity. 
These remarks were preserved for publication, notwithstanding the 
renewed friendship with Mr. Adams. Some of them are these: 
December 26, 1797, (vol. iv. p. 503,) " Langdon tells me, that 
Adams," (in allusion to votes given for Clinton in opposition to 
Adams,) "gritting his teeth, said, Damn 'em, damn 'em, damn 
'em, you see that elective government will not do." 

Page 451. "Mr. Adams had originally been a republican. 
The glare of royalty and nobility, during his mission in England, 
had made him believe their fascination to be a necessary ingredi- 
ent in government. His book on the American constitutions, 
had made known his political bias. He was taken up by the 
monarchical federalists in his absence, and on his return to the 
United States, he was by them made to believe, that the general 
disposition of our citizens was favorable to monarchy." 

It is difficult to reconcile this course of remark, with any sound 
moral or social principle, which well-informed gentlemen recog- 
nize. It is very possible that Mr. Adams may have entertained 
the abstract opinion, that the government of Great Britain, with 
some modifications, may be the best of which mankind are capa- 
ble. But this is a very different affair from assuming, that Mr. 
Adams thought such a government should be attempted in this 
country. Let it even be supposed, as Mr. Jefferson would have 
it, that Mr. Adams thought that government the best for this coun- 
try, what motive could Mr. Jefferson have had, twenty-five years 
after Mr. Adams had retired from public life, and had manifested, 
in various ways, a decided attachment to republican government, 



190 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and after the affectionate friendship between these two men had 
been cemented by a coirespondence of the most confidential cha- 
racter, that these sayings (if they were ever said) should be trea- 
sured up, and given to the world? One cannot but ask, how 
Mr. Adams would have regarded this? And as he was gone, 
and could not have suspected that his friend intended any such 
reproach to his memory, then those who now consider these things 
may ask, was this doing as one would be done by£ Or, is this 
the conduct of a man of honor; of a real gentleman? 

There is another circumstance which Mr. Jefferson's writings 
bring into prominent notice, and which goes far to settle his true 
character. Washington had selected Mr. Jefferson for one of his 
most confidential advisers, and under circumstances which ought to 
have decided Mr. Jefferson to adopt one of two courses ; first, to 
reject the confidence; or, secondly, to accept it, and to use it 
agreeably to Washington's implied expectation. Now there was 
a translating clerk in Mr. Jefferson's office, by the name of Fre- 
neau; who was also the publisher of the National Gazette. This 
paper was issued continually, for the principal purpose of bringing 
Washington's administration into contempt. It denied to him 
personally, both capacity and integrity. Freneau not only so 
published, but it was his practice daily to send three copies of 
his paper to Washington. This became intolerable, and Wash- 
ington could not forbear to speak to his cabinet counsellor, on this 
highly unjust and abusive conduct of his own clerk; and request- 
ed his interference, as a member of the administration, to rebuke 
Freneau. Considering the relation in which Jefferson stood to 
Washington, and the fact of Freneau's dependence on the former, 
what would have been the course of a fair dealing, conscientious 
person? Mr. Jefferson, more than thirty years after this time, and 
in contemplation of his own decease, and in preparing the materi- 
als for pages to be read after he was gone, tells what his course 
was. He says, (vol. iv. p. 491,) that Washington, at a cabinet 
council, remarked, "That rascal, Freneau, sent him three of his 
papers every day, as if he thought he (Washington) would become 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 191 

the distributer of his papers ; that he could see in this nothing 
but an impudent design to insult him ; he ended in this high tone." 
Again at a meeting, May 23, 1793, (vol. iv. p. 485,) speaking of 
Washington, Mr. Jefferson says, " He adverted to a piece in Fre- 
neau's paper of yesterday; he said he despised all their attacks 
on him personally, but that there had never been an act of the 
government, not meaning in the executive line only, but in any 
line, which that paper had not abused. He was evidently sore 
and warm, and I took his intention to be, that I should interpose 
in some way with Freneau, perhaps withdraw his appointment of 
translating clerk to my office. But I will not do it. His paper 
has saved our constitution, which was galloping fast into mon- 
archy, and has been checked, by no one means so powerfully as 
by that paper. It is well and universally known, that it has 
been that paper, which has checked the career of the monocrats ; 
and the President, not sensible of the designs of the party, has 
not with his usual good sense and sangfroid, looked on the ef- 
forts and effects of this free press, and seen, that though some bad 
things have passed through it to the public, yet the good have 
preponderated immensely." 

Mr. Jefferson could elect to retain Freneau, and to patronize 
his paper, and to approve of his abuse of Washington ; but that 
he could retain his place, and daily appear before Washington, 
and affect to be well-disposed towards him and his administration, 
cannot be reconciled with the feelings and sentiments of any honor- 
able man. Why such a man as Washington, kept such a man, as 
he knew Jefferson to be, near him and in his counsels, can be ac- 
counted for only on the supposition, that Washington desired to 
sacrifice his own feelings, to what he may have considered to be 
the public good. Mr. Jefferson takes great pains to show, that 
Washington was exceedingly reluctant to have him retire, and 
kept him in office, against his own will, throughout the year 1793. 
This is very possible. There may have been good reasons for 
desiring to retain Mr. Jefferson, in the probable relation of the 
United States to France. We have Mr. Jefferson's version of the 



192 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

matter. A contradictory one could come only from Washington 
himself. He knew that would never come; for Washington is 
not supposed to have kept memoranda of his confidential inter- 
course for public inspection, nor, probably, even for his own. 

Mr. Jefferson is as little merciful to Washington, as to other 
men of whom he records his opinions. In page 467, vol. iv., he 
remarks on Washington, who was then in his sixty-first year, that 
he was sensible of the decay of his hearing, of which no one is 
supposed to have heard but Mr. Jefferson. 

In page 455, (29th February, 1792,) when Washington was 
only sixty years old, Mr. Jefferson relates a conversation on Wash- 
ington's retirement from office, in which the latter is reported to 
have said, "that he really felt himself growing old; his bodily 
health less firm, his memory, always bad, becoming worse, and 
perhaps the other faculties of his mind showing a decay to others, 
of which he was not sensible himself, and that this apprehension 
particularly oppressed him." It may be that Washington select- 
ed Mr. Jefferson for this delicate and confidential communication. 
It is very unlike the supposed reserve and habitual dignity of 
Washington ; and not reconcilable with his performance of the 
duties of his second term ; nor with his acceptance of the com- 
mand of the army, six years afterwards. One is at a loss even to 
conjecture the motive for making this record, if it was not to de- 
preciate Washington, which is obviously the motive in the follow- 
ing quotation: 

Page 512, "Rush" (Dr. Rush of Philadelphia) "observes, he 
never did say a word on the subject, in any of his public papers, 
except in his valedictory letter to the governors of the states, 
Avhen he resigned his commission in the army, wherein he speaks 
of 'the benign influence of the Christian religion.' " 

"I know that Gouverneur Morris, who pretended to be in his 
secrets, and believed himself to be so, has often told me, that 
General Washington believed no more of that system than he did 
himself." That is, Morris admitted himself to be an infidel, and 
also knew that Washington was an infidel! 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 193 

In the same manner, Mr. Jefferson appears to have treasured 
up all the opinions imputed to George Cabot, Samuel Dexter, 
Christopher Gore, Robert G. Harper, Rufus King, John Jay, Har- 
rison G. Otis, Timothy Pickering, John Lowell, and many other 
eminent men, for the apparent purpose of proving to posterity, 
that they were enemies of the institutions of their own country, 
and leagued together to introduce a monarchy. It is to be re- 
membered that the recorded sayings and opinions came through 
two or more mouths, and that the principal informant was a man 
of whom Mr. Jefferson himself says, " he is too credulous of what 
he hears."* 

The fourth volume of Mr. Jefferson's works abounds with 
these narrations, concerning the distinguished men of our country, 
for purposes which cannot be otherwise understood, than as 
designed to make these men odious. Now Mr. Jefferson may 
have thought all this right, and becoming. But so many of these 
tales are so near akin to mere gossip, that it is surprising any 
gentleman could be disposed to hear them. More surprising that 
any gentleman should record them as truths. Lamentable, that 
they should have been destined to meet the eye of future genera- 
tions, with the sanction of one who had held the highest offices in 
the gift of his countrymen. 



LETTER XXXV. 

Jcxe 9, 1S33. 

The two points on which Mr. Jefferson appears to rely most, 
to prove the design of establishing a monarchy, and a corrupt one 
too, are the funding system, and the national bank. He considers, 

* Beckley, clerk of the House of Representatives. 

17 



194 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

whenever he mentions the former, that the object was, to create 
in the two branches of the legislature, "treasury votes" enough 
to carry all the measures of the administration ; and that these 
must always be measures which ought not to be carried. He con- 
siders, too, that every federalist who came into either branch, must 
have been corrupted by the funding system or bank, although not 
members when either was established. This is a very compre- 
hensive denunciation ; and not worth answering at this day, if it 
not to show the true character of Mr. Jefferson's credulity, 
or something worse. 

The best refutation may be, to mention the names of the ma- 
jorities in both branches, who voted to provide for the public debt. 
If they w r ere the corrupt men alluded to, they w T ere not so avari- 
cious as may be supposed ; and not so wise, as wicked, since no 
one was afterwards known to have changed his condition for the 
better, in consequence of his votes. 

The funding system was finally established in July, 1790. 
Those who voted for it in the Senate were: 

Butler, S. C. Morris, Penn. 

Dalton, Mass. Paterson, N. J. 

Elmer, N. J. Schuyler, N. Y. 

Henry, Md. Strong, Mass. 

Johnson, Conn. Walker, Va. 

Izard, S. C. King, N. Y. 

Langdon, N. H. 

In the House of Representatives: 

Ames, M;iss. Foster, N. H. 

Benson, N. Y. Gale, Md. 

Boudinot, N. J. Gerry, Mass. 

Burke, S. C. Goodhue, Mass. 

Cadwalader, Penn. Grout, Mass. 

Carroll, Md. Huger, S. C. 

Clymer, Penn. Huntington, Conn. 

Fitzsimmons, Penn. Laurence, N. Y. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 195 

R. B. Lee, Va. Sturges, Conn. 

Leonard, Mass. Sumpter, S. C. 

Partridge, Mass. Thacher, Mass. 

Schureman, N. J. Trumbull, Conn. 

Sedgwick, Mass. Tucker, S. C. 

Sherman, Conn. Vining, Va. 

Silvester, N. Y. Wadsworth, Conn. 

Sinnickson, N. J. White, Va. 

W. Smith, S. C. Wynkoop, Penn. 

The following are among many similar notices of the provision 
for the payment of the public debt, found in Mr. Jefferson's 
volumes. In page 446 of 4th volume: "Hamilton's financial 
system had then passed. It had two objects : 1st. As a puzzle 
to exclude popular understanding and inquiry. 2d. As a machine 
for the corruption of the legislature ; for he avowed the opinion, 
that man could be governed by one of two motives only, force or 
interest. Force, he observed, in this country, was out of the 
question ; and the interest, therefore, of the members, must be 
laid hold of, to keep the legislature in unison with the executive. 
And with grief and shame it must be acknowledged, that his 
machine was not without effect." 

Almost all the members of both Houses of Congress, who voted 
for the "funding system," were then sufficiently distinguished to 
be known throughout the United States. Every one who can 
remember as far back as thirty years, and who was attentive to 
public affairs, must have been informed, (as to those in his own 
state, if not more extensively,) of the reputation of these men. 
Who among them maybe selected as a corrupt speculator? Who 
among them may be supposed to have advocated a great political 
measure, perfectly reconcilable with honor, justice, and duty in 
itself, for the purpose of enriching himself? Mr. Jefferson was 
among these men, from the 22d of March, 1790, to the 31st of 
December, 1793. He had Beckley and Freneau, and many 
other skilful inquirers and faithful reporters. Who would Mr. 
Jefferson have selected as a corrupt monarchist, if in that space 



196 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

of time he had been called on to do so? Was there nothing in 
the future days of these men, and in the repeated marks of con- 
fidence which were afterwards conferred where they were best 
known, which might have corrected Mr. Jefferson's opinions, in 
the long lapse of time through which he lived? No, nothing. 
Among the last acts of his life, he carefully prepared his charges 
to go down to posterity, with his certificate that they were true. 

The same sort of record is made by Mr. Jefferson concerning 
the National Bank, which was created by the votes of nearly the 
same men. On the 2d of March, (vol. iv. p. 481,) Mr. Jefferson 
thus describes the majority of the House of Representatives: 
"1. Bank directors. 2. Holders of bank stock. 3. Stock-job- 
bers. 4. Blind, devotees. 5. Ignorant persons who did not com- 
prehend them ;" (meaning Gile's resolutions, criminating Hamil- 
ton.) "6. Lazy, good-humored persons, who comprehended and 
acknowledged them, yet were too lazy to examine, or unwilling 
to pronounce censure. The three first descriptions, making one- 
third of the House, and the three latter one-half of the residue." 

Now, did Mr. Jefferson really believe this, his own record ? or 
did he record that which he believed to be untrue, to answer some 
purpose of his own ? If he really believed all that he states to be 
true, what must be thought of his understanding? If he knew 
that he was stating that which was untrue, what must be thought 
of his heart? 



LETTER XXXVI. 

Jvjte 12, 1833. 

The subject of monarchy, as charged against the federalists as 
a party, is one on which Mr. Jefferson delights to dwell. The 
following are samples of the multitude of remarks to be found in 
his volumes: 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 197 

In vol. iii. p. 402: "The X Y Z fever has considerably 
abated through the country, as I am informed, and the alien and 
sedition laws are working hard. For my own part, I consider 
those laws merely an experiment on the American mind, to see 
how far it will bear an avowed violation of the constitution. If 
this goes down, we shall immediately see another act of Congress 
attempted, declaring that the President shall continue in office 
during life, reserving to another occasion the transfer of the suc- 
cession to his heirs, and the establishment of the Senate for 
life." 

In vol. iv. p. 183: "This government they (federalists) wished 
to have established here, and only accepted and held fast, at first, 
to the present constitution, as a stepping-stone to the final esta- 
blishment of their favorite model. This party has, therefore, al- 
ways clung to England, as their prototype and great auxiliary in 
promoting and effecting this change. A weighty minority of these 
leaders, considering the voluntary conversion of our government 
into a monarchy, as too distant, if not desperate, wish to break off 
from our Union its eastern fragment, as being, in fact, the hot-bed 
of American monarchism, with a view to the commencement of 
their favorite government ; from whence the other states may gan- 
grene by degrees, and the whole be thus finally brought to the 
desired point." 

"At the head of this minority, is what is called the Essex Junto 
of Massachusetts. But the majority of these leaders do not aim 
at separation. In this they adhere to the known principles of 
General Hamilton, never, under any views, to break the Union. 
Anglomany, monarchy, and separation, then, are the principles of 
the Essex federalists; Anglomany and monarchy, those of the 
Hamiltonians ; and Anglomany alone, that of the portion of people 
who call themselves federalists." {Letter to Mr. Melish, map- 
maker, January 19, 1813.) 

These are only some of many similar remarks scattered through 
Mr. Jefferson's third and fourth volumes. 

The foregoing extracts assume, that almost immediately after 

17* 



198 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the adoption of the national government, there was a party in 
New England, who designed to subvert that government, and dis- 
solve the Union, or to convert that government into a monarchy. 
No persons are named.* It is a general denunciation of the 
federal party. There is no mode of meeting and refuting Mr. 
Jefferson, but by stating facts which cannot be denied ; and if 
these be utterly incompatible with the supposed design, the design 
itself must be regarded as a mere calumny, chargeable on the 
perverted state of Mr. Jefferson's mind, or on his own want of 
integrity. 

These are historical facts: The federal party labored, with all 
their might, to establish the national constitution. King, Gore, 
Strong, Lowell, Parsons, Hamilton, Jay, Pickering, Brooks, Sedg- 
wick, and hundreds of such men who might be named, were 
among the most zealous advocates of the constitution. What 
were their motives? If they had any such purpose as Mr. Jeffer- 
son imputes to them, they could not have been the advocates of a 
regular system of government, which guaranteed to each and 
every state in the Union, the continuance of republican forms. 
The firm establishment of such a government made the whole of 
the United States one community, from which no state could with- 
draw but by the consent of all. The whole physical force in 
states adhering to the confederacy, could be arrayed against any 
one which was disposed to depart from it. The federal party in- 
tended that this should be so ; and they did everything that men 
could do to effect this object. They discerned in the federal union 
the only security against external foes, and internal faction ; and 
above all, security against the contentions, already becoming seri- 
ous, between the states themselves. If these are unquestionable 
facts, how could the very men who thus labored to establish this 
government, have intended at the same time, or within a few years 
afterwards, and while it was in the most satisfactory execution 

• This is the often repeated opinion of Mr. Jefferson, who says, in his Mazzei 
letter, "we must break these Lilliputian ties, with which they have bound us," &c. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 199 

under the direction of federalists, its dismemberment and destruc- 
tion ! One would think, that these men had every inducement, 
which can influence the human mind, to preserve the constitution, 
and to have it wisely administered. 

If they had desired to create a monarchical system, their course 
would have been to keep out of the Union, to have promoted an- 
archy and confusion, and to have made force necessary to preserve 
order ; and to have availed of that force to establish their domin- 
ion. They were to do this while the whole country was impover- 
ished and distressed by the effects of the revolutionary war ; and 
when New England had almost exhausted its strength in repelling 
the efforts of royalty to establish a tyrannical power. These very 
men, whom Mr. Jefferson charges with the design of erecting a 
monarchy, through the means of interior commotion, were the 
foremost to suppress the rebellion in Massachusetts, in 1786-7; 
and who were instructed by that occurrence, perhaps more than 
any other, in the necessity of a federal union. These are facts 
not to be denied ; and how do they agree with Mr. Jefferson's 
calumnies ? 

As to the design of converting the national government into a 
monarchy, which Mr. Jefferson so often asserts, how were they to 
effect such a purpose? Mr. Jefferson admits, that the people of 
the United States everywhere, except among leading federalists, 
were republican. Monarchy could be erected but in one of two 
modes, assent or force. Mr. Jefferson does not pretend that it 
could be done by assent. He says it could not ; and truly. The 
people of the United States had just effected their liberation from 
a monarchy. Were they, while the memory of their toils and 
sufferings was so fresh, to have submitted to the dominion of one 
of their own citizens, and have stood quiet or applauding specta- 
tors to see him crowned ? Were the federalists as silly as Mr. 
Jefferson thought them wicked ? Did not they know the state of 
public opinion as well as he did ? If one could suppose such an 
absurdity as Mr. Jefferson has caused to be published, who was 
to be the king ? Admit that everybody was ready for a monarchy, 



200 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and that the federalists had only to arrange their order of it, one 
had as much pretension to wear the crown as another. They 
must have peaceably arranged among themselves, who should be 
masters and who should be servants. A king would need dukes 
and lords to prop him up. Who were to be selected for such 
dignity, and who excluded ? Who but Thomas Jefferson would 
impute to men, who certainly had some claim to common sense, 
and who had done all they could to establish republican liberty, 
the project of a peaceful arrangement of a monarchy? 

Royalty by force, was a still more absurd project. The fede- 
ralists must have had command of men and money. How were 
either to be obtained ? The federalists had no money wherewith to 
maintain a military force ; and the people must have submitted to 
military exactions to have kept any force on foot, for a single week. 
Mr. Jefferson presumed too much on the credulity of his country- 
men, in supposing that they would believe him ; or he had been 
spoiled in finding that his assertions had been so long received 
by them as truths. The more probable solution is, that Mr. Jef- 
ferson's readiness to believe what he had hoped was true, had 
convinced him that it was true. He somewhere says, that an often 
asserted falsehood, comes at length to be a truth in the mind of 
him who asserts it. 

Mr. Jefferson did no credit to his own book learning, of which 
he had a great deal, in assuming, that a republic can be converted 
into a monarchy, in either of the modes which he imputes to the 
federalists. He knew, or ought to have known, that republics have 
never changed into monarchies, but always into despotisms. He 
must have known that when despotism overwhelms this country, 
it will come by the usurpation of men, who can delude the multi- 
tude under the guise of being their friends. No man that has' 
lived in the United States in the last fifty years, has done so much 
as Mr. Jefferson himself, to prepare the public mind for such 
usurpation. All the misrule which now afflicts this country, can 
be fairly traced to him. He may have been far enough from any 
such design ; but the effect is a sorrowful fact, as a large propor- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 201 

tion of the thinking men of the country see with dismay. If 
there be, in the present chief magistrate,* indications of a desire 
to exercise an absolute authority, he proposes to do it, in virtue 
of being the popular favorite. As such, his friends sustain him. 



LETTER XXXVII. 

Juste 15, 1833. 

The Jeffersonian dominion began in the United States on the 
4th of March, 1801. The opponents of the federal constitution 
had (by means well known, that is, by all manner of appeals to 
popular prejudice) been gaining strength. The same means 
persevered in, would, in another four years, have given the 
administration to them. The experience of the last thirty years 
proves, that the majority of the American people can always be 
ruled by their friends. In other words, combinations of adroit 
men who want office, emolument and distinction, and who con- 
sider all these to be only prizes to be gamed for, can always find 
the means of winning them. Those who have the principles and 
feelings of the founders of the government, by whatsoever name 
distinguished, must content themselves with opposition to what they 
conscientiously believe to be destructive of the original purposes 
for which the government was instituted. This they must do, or 
prefer, as Mr. Jefferson says, "the calm of despotism to the tem- 
pestuous sea of liberty," under very disagreeable masters. 

When the votes were counted, it appeared that Mr. Jefferson 
had seventy-three, Aaron Burr seventy-three, John Adams sixty- 
five, C. C. Pinckney sixty-four. As the constitution then was, 
two persons were to be voted for, both of whom could not be 

* This refers to Andrew Jackson. 



202 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

resident in the state in which the vote was given. The highest 
number of votes, being a majority of all the votes cast, made the 
President; the next highest, being a like majority, made the Vice 
President. Jefferson and Burr having an equal number, the choice 
devolved on the House of Representatives. Mr. Jefferson took 
care to have this "procedure corrected" by a change of the con- 
stitution before another election. The House vote, on such occa- 
sions, by states. If the number of representatives from a state 
was seven, a majority of this number constituted the vote of the 
state. If the number was equal, the vote of the state might be 
divided ; but by a regulation adopted by the House, the vote was 
not lost in case of division, but was counted ; though for neither 
party. From New Hampshire there were Jour; from Massachu- 
setts, fourteen; from Connecticut, seven; from Vermont, two; from 
Rhode Island, two; from New York, ten; from New Jersey, five; 
from Pennsylvania, thirteen; from Delaware, one; from Maryland, 
eight; from Virginia, nineteen; from North Carolina, ten; from 
South Carolina, five; from Georgia, one; from Kentucky, two ; 
from Tennessee, one. Among the members spoken of, from 
personal observation, were Sedgwick, Thacher, Otis, Lincoln, 
Griswold, Dana, Goodrich, Smith, Champlin, all of New Eng- 
land. Jonas Piatt, New York ; Edward Livingston, New York ; 
Gallatin, Pennsylvania; James A. Bayard, Delaware; Samuel 
Smith, Maryland ; Henry Lee, Virginia; John Randolph, Virginia ; 
Littleton W. Tazewell, Virginia; N. Macon, North Carolina; R. 
G. Harper, South Carolina; Thomas Pinckney, South Carolina; 
John Rutledge, South Carolina. 

The House voted, among other regulations, to attend to no 
business but the election, while it w T as pending, and not to 
adjourn until an election was effected. The balloting began on 
Wednesday, the 11th of February, and continued until Tuesday, 
the 17th, at one o'clock; recurring at longer or shorter intervals. 
In thirty-five ballotings, the vote stood eight for Thomas Jefferson, 
six for Aaron Burr, and two states were divided. On the thirty- 
sixth ballot, Jefferson had ten states, Burr, four ; and two states 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 203 

gave a blank vote. The presence of every member during this 
extraordinary scene, which lasted seven days, was indispensable. 
Some of them were infirm or indisposed, and were accommodated 
with beds or couches ; and one member was so indisposed as to 
be attended by his .wife. The whole number present w T as one 
hundred and four ; of whom a majority were federalists, though 
there was not a federal majority of states. The election was 
decided by the votes of Vermont and Maryland. Lewis R. 
Morris is said to have withdrawn, leaving his colleague, the 
famous Matthew Lyon, (who was convicted of sedition,) to vote 
for Vermont. Four federalists, in Maryland, are said to have 
given blank votes, and the other four members from that state, to 
have voted for Jefferson. 

These seven days of balloting were days of great excitement. 
Mr. Adams was there as President, contemplating the approach 
of his political annihilation. Mr. Jefferson was there daily pre- 
siding in the Senate, in all the inquietude of success or defeat. 
Burr was at New York or Albany. The federalists, in the House, 
had a most painful and responsible duty to perform ; that of choos- 
ing between two such men as Jefferson and Burr ! Among the 
rumors of the time w r as this : That the federalists could, and 
would, prevent any election, and would permit the balloting to 
go on till the 4th of March, and consider both offices (President 
and Vice President) vacant, and leave to the President of the 
Senate to exercise the executive power. Another rumor was, that 
a law could be passed to vest in some person the executive power. 
It is not improbable, that, from the abhorrence which some mem- 
bers may have felt at seeing Mr. Jefferson in the office of Presi- 
dent, means were spoken of, adapted to prevent such a national 
misfortune. Doubtless the federalists would have done anything, 
which they believed to be constitutional and dutiful to prevent it ; 
but no such propositions are supposed to have been discussed. 
The Jeffersonians insisted, that the people meant Jefferson should 
be President, and that, if the House did not choose him, an armed 
force would go from the neighboring states to compel the House 



204 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

to choose him; or, more probably, to choose him themselves. 
Mr. Jefferson says, in a letter under date of February 15 (1801), 
to James Monroe, while the election was pending, (vol. iii. 452,) 
"If they could have been permitted to pass a law for putting the 
government into the hands of an officer, they \voulcl certainly have 
prevented an election. But we thought it best to declare, one 
and all, openly and firmly, that the day such an act passed, the 
middle states would arm ; and that no such usurpation, even for 
a single day, should be submitted to. This first shook them ; and 
they were completely alarmed at the resource for which we de- 
clared, viz., to re-organize the government, and to amend it. 
The very word convention gives them the'horrors, as in the present 
democratical spirit of America, they fear they should lose some 
of the favorite morsels of the constitution." One would have 
thought this a favorable time for the "monarchists" to have made 
an attempt to set up a king. The government would have come 
to a natural and easy dissolution, by refusing to elect a President, 
and no better chance of scrambling for royalty could ever be 
expected. 

Mr. Jefferson says, that he was frequently asked, during this 
time, to promise, that he would not do certain acts which the fede- 
ralists feared he would do ; that is, that he would preserve certain 
features of federal policy. He says he answered, that he would 
not go into office with his hands tied. It must be admitted that 
he acted with some firmness (if the fact w r as so) in refusing, what 
proved to be for him a crown (as he says) "on capitulation." 
Among other rumors was this : Hamilton is said to have been ► 
consulted ; and that he was of opinion that it was better to choose 
Jefferson than Burr. He seems to have had an abhorrence of Burr, 
and to have believed it safer to trust to Jefferson's characteristic 
timidity, than to Burr's insatiable ambition. It was as embarrass- 
ing a question as could be proposed to an honorable and patriotic fr 
mind, which of these two men might do the most mischief! It 
might have made a favorable difference to this country if Burr 
had been preferred, whatever Burr may have been since that day; 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 205 

and certainly, all the difference of life and death to Hamilton 
himself. ./ 

This election of President (in February, 1801, by the House of 
Representatives) is sufficiently interesting to be further noticed, 
for two reasons ; first, to present a true account of the federal 
party in the House, whose adversaries attributed to them very 
reprehensible designs and attempts; secondly, to show the true 
character of Mr. Jefferson's "Anas," and records. Both these 
objects will be accomplished by the perusal of evidence contained 
in the Appendix. This evidence was published in the National 
Gazette, (Philadelphia,) January 1, 1830, by Richard H. Bayard 
and James A. Bayard, sons of a gentleman of the latter name, 
in refutation of two of Mr. Jefferson's statements. This is an 
instance, in which it was deemed a duty to a deceased parent, to 
inquire into the truth of Mr. Jefferson's assertions. It will be 
seen, by the perusal of that evidence, that Mr. Jefferson is plainly 
in error. Being proved to be so, in this case, a strong presump- 
tion arises, that if the truth of his statements, in other cases, could 
be tested in like manner, they would be found to be equally erro- 
neous. 

James A. Bayard, the gentleman whom Mr. Jefferson mentions 
so improperly, was a descendant of the Chevalier Bayard, who 
died in 1524; and who is familiarly known as the man {sanspeur 
et sans reproche) without fear and without reproach. In a letter 
written by Mr. Bayard in 1801, and which will be found in the 
Appendix, he says, I shall never lose sight of the motto of the 
great original of our name." This gentleman was an eminent 
lawyer in the state of Delaware. He was in both branches of 
Congress, and was second to no one in either branch. He was 
one of the envoys who made the treaty of peace at Ghent in 1814. 
He was a tall, well-proportioned, erect man, of light complexion, 
light hair, of handsome face, intelligent and manly expression, 
and of courteous and dignified manners. He was one, of whom 
it might be truly said, that nature, education, mind, heart and 
habit, had combined to make a gentleman. His eloquence was 
18 



206 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

lofty and commanding. He had, eminently, the first of its re- 
quisites, sincerity, and certainty that he was right. It was such 
a man, that Thomas Jefferson would declare, even from his own 
tomb, to be a 'political knave. 

The two passages complained of by Mr. Bayard's sons are the 
followino-. The first of them will be found in vol. iv. p. 515. 

" February 12, 1801. Edward Livingston tells me, that Bay- 
ard applied to-day, or last night, to General Smith, and represent- 
ed to him the expediency of his coming over to the states who 
vote for Burr; that there was nothing in the way of appointment 
which he might not command, and particularly mentioned the 
Secretaryship of the Navy. Smith asked him if he was author- 
ized to make the offer. He said he was authorized. Smith told 
this to Livingston, and to W. C. Nicholas, who confirms it to 
me. Bayard, in like manner, tempted Livingston, not by offering 
any particular office, but by representing to him his, Livingston's, 
intimacy and connection with Burr ; that from him he had every- 
thing to expect, if he would come over to him. To Dr. Linn, of 
New Jersey, they have offered the government of New Jersey. 
See a paragraph in Martin's Baltimore paper, of February 10, sign- 
ed 'ALooker-on,' stating an intimacy between Harper and Burr." 
Mr. Jefferson begins in page 520 of the 4th volume, under 
date of April 15, 1806, the record of an interview with Burr, 
which occurred, he says, about a month before, in which Burr 
(then Ex-Vice President) appears to have intimated that an office 
would be agreeable to him. Mr. Jefferson says that he said to 
Burr, " that if we believed a few newspapers, it might be sup- 
posed he had lost public confidence, but that / knew how easy it 
was to engage newspapers in anything." "That as to any harm he 
could do me, I knew no cause why he should desire it; but at the 
same time I feared no injury which any man could do me ; that I 
had never done a single act, or been concerned in any transaction, 
which I feared to have fully laid open, or which could do me any 
hurt, if truly stated." lie then adds, (same page,) "I did not 
commit these things to writing at the time, but I do it now, be- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 207 

cause in a suit between him (Burr) and Cheetham, he has had a 
deposition of Mr. Bayard taken, which has no relation to the 
suit, nor to any other object than to calumniate me. Bayard pre- 
tends to have addressed to me, during the pending of the presi- 
dential election, in February, 1801, through General Samuel 
Smith, certain conditions on which my election might be obtained ; 
and that General Smith, after conversing with me, gave answers 
for me. This is absolutely false. No proposition of any kind 
was ever made to me on that occasion by General Smith, nor any 
answer authorized by me; and this fact General Smith affirms at 
this moment.'''' 

Now, so it is, that Mr. Bayard was one of the six persons in 
the House of Representatives, on whom the election of Mr. Jef- 
ferson depended ; either of whom could have decided the election ; 
and that Bayard had less repugnance to the election of Mr. Jef- 
ferson than to that of Mr. Burr ; and that he could, at any ballot- 
ing, have settled the question by his vote ; and was resolved that 
there should be an election. It also happens, that on the same 
day when Mr. Jefferson made his record, General Smith, a per- 
sonal and political friend of Mr. Jefferson, was engaged in giving 
his deposition in a case, in which he declares, that he undertook, 
being a resident in the same house with Mr. Jefferson, to inquire 
into his policy concerning commerce, the navy, and the funding 
system ; that he did inquire of Mr. Jefferson, and did report his 
answers; and that the election was thereupon made. He and 
Mr. Bayard both testify, that no proposition was made to either 
of them, nor by either of them, to promote Burr's election. Mr. 
Bayard says, that at this time he had no personal acquaintance 
with Burr ; and that he knew not of any effort made by Burr, to 
promote his own election ; that no means to that end were taken 
among the members, but argument and persuasion, founded on the 
belief, that it would be less disastrous to the country to elect Burr 
than to elect Jefferson. It is furthermore a fact, that General 
Smith on the floor of the Senate denied, that Mr. Jefferson had 
recorded truths ; and another fact that Mr. Livingston stated, 



208 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

also, on the floor of the Senate, that he remembered no such 
truths, as Mr. Jefferson had recorded concerning himself.* 

If Mr. Jefferson could so write, on facts which must have been 
within his own knowledge, and adapted to be strongly impressed 
on his memory, it casts a deep shade over his "tells me" asser- 
tions, and over his hearsay records, received from persons, who 
had, probably, learned how to gratify his sense of hearing. f 



LETTER XXXVIII. 

June 23, 1S33. 

The election of Mr. Jefferson was regarded with strongly con- 
trasted feelings, by the two great parties of the United States. 
He had not been a prominent object of attention, while in retire- 
ment, between his resignation of the office of Secretary, and his 
Vice Presidency. While in the latter office, he was only a pre- 
siding officer, and had no call to express his opinions publicly. 
As soon as it w r as ascertained that he, or Burr, must be the Pre- 
sident, it became highly interesting, to both parties, to investigate 
his character, and his political propensities. He was portrayed 
according to the perceptions of the two parties, and presented in 
striking colors. 

* See Appendix. 

t 'I'll" "\ I'li-h"" "ollected by the sons of Mr. Bayard to vindicate the honorable 
fame of their father, against the calumnies of Mr. Jefferson, consists of two de- 
positions given by Mr. Bayard, in cases of libel which arose out of the election of 
February, 1801; and of a deposition of Samuel Smith, in one of those cases; — also 
of letters from members of Congress, who were present at that election. This 
evidence is accompanied by some very becoming commentaries from Mr.Bayard's 
sons, and was made public January 1, 1830, through the National Gazette, (Phila- 
delphia,) m consequence of Colonel Hayne's (South Carolina) having introduced 
Mi. Jefferson's record of facts, in a debate in the Senate. This evidence is histori- 
cally important 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 209 

By the one party, he was represented as the early advocate of 
religious freedom, and of the rights of man ; the great apostle of 
liberty ; the friend of our excellent ally, France ; the determined 
foe of British influence ; the reformer of constitutional errors ; a 
sage, a philosopher, a true patriot, and genuine republican. 

By the other, — as a man destitute of the commonly received 
moral principles ; and one who entertained no respect for the ac- 
knowledged foundation of all moral principle ; the devoted admirer, 
and blind apologist of one foreign nation, and the uncompromising 
enemy of another; nor less an enemy to the men who had con- 
ducted the government for the first twelve years, and to all their 
measures; nor only so, he was declared to be hostile to the con- 
stitution itself, and would exercise the powers which it vested in 
him, to gratify one portion of his fellow citizens, and humble the 
other ; that he would not be the dignified head of a great republic, 
but an intolerant party chieftain ; that his learning had been used 
to break down and remove, rather than to uphold and preserve, the 
landmarks by which the virtuous and intelligent had, for ages, 
bounded social welfare. 

How far from the truth these parties respectively were, it is 
certainly of some importance to know. How near that posterity, 
to which Mr. Jefferson appeals, will come to the truth, cannot be 
foreseen. It is probable that the obscurity which time throws 
over motives and acts, and the generalization which is all that 
the limits of common history permits, w r ill prevent a true estimate 
of Mr. Jefferson's merits and faults, among those of future days. 
Time will also diminish the interest which will be felt in this 
gentleman's real character, and he will, probably, be known only 
as one who held the first station in his country ; and that certain 
prominent events occurred in his time ; but why did they occur, 
will interest very few. 

This is not so with those who are now living. Mr. Jefferson 
has made it highly interesting to them to know his true character, 
and the meaning and consequences of his policy. If it be true, 
as many suppose it to be, that he was the original cause of the 

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210 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

dangerous theories and practice, which now threaten to destroy 
the security and happiness of the American people : if he was 
the author of that perversion of our institutions, intended for 
common welfare of the whole, to the exclusive use and benefit of 
a few ; if he was the creator of that destroyer of all republics, 
party, the well known precursor of despotism ; if his political 
acts and his private writings, now given to the world with the 
sanction of his own name, prove, that all or any of these supposi- 
tions may be true, — surely, all of the present day are interested 
to inquire, and to decide. 

Taking his public messages, and other official documents, as 
the true index of his purposes as a public officer; and then taking 
the contents of his own volumes, as the true interpreter of his 
true meaning in all things, which he did as an officer, as a citi- 
zen, and as a man, we may arrive at demonstration. 

It will, on such authority, appear, that from the 22d of March, 
1790, to the 4th of March, 1801, Mr. Jefferson had three great 
purposes always in view, and that he spared no exertion to ac- 
complish them: 1. The aggrandizement of France. 2. The de- 
struction of England. 3. The demolition of federalists, as a 
party ; and the expatriation of the citizens who were of that party. 

It will also appear, that the means taken to accomplish his ob- 
jects, would be considered, in any other man, to be subversive of 
the honor and independence of his own country ; a perversion of 
its institutions ; unjust in motive ; oppressive and demoralizing 
in effect. But Mr. Jefferson is singularly privileged from all im- 
putations of base or unworthy motives, in any case. He has un- 
dertaken to be responsible for his own honesty. If it must be 
admitted that he was honest, that is, that he really saw himself, 
his fellow-citizens, his country, and its institutions, as he repre- 
sents himself to have seen them, he has proved his honesty at the 
expense of respect for his intelligence, and of esteem for his 
heart. If it were any other man, one might venture to say, that 
he thought anything right, which he thought expedient ; and that 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 211 

anything was expedient, as to object and means, which would 
accomplish his own ends. 

When Mr. Jefferson became President, the people had delibe- 
rately established a national form of government, as accurately 
defined as could be done by human wisdom. It had received a 
practical construction during twelve years, by very able men, and 
whom history will honor as wise, virtuous and patriotic. Falli- 
ble they may have been, and may have erred under high party 
excitements, and in opposing those whom they regarded as dan- 
gerous partisans, whether these were deluded, or dishonest. 

The JefTersonian party of the last thirty years, have never 
amended the system which the first twelve years established. 
They have often departed from it, and perverted it ; but in their 
pressing necessities have always returned to it, and relied upon 
it. That system contemplated and provided for the national se- 
curity and independence, by a sound credit, by reasonable means 
of defence, by honorable and prudent policy as to all other na- 
tions. At home, it meant to secure, and did secure, tranquillity, 
the reasonable protection of domestic industry, gradual internal 
improvement, a sound currency, and unrestrained exercise of 
every power to acquire and enjoy, so far as the policy, rightfully 
adopted by foreign nations, would allow. This system left to 
state sovereignty its legitimate sphere of action uncontrolled. 
As the guardian and protector of all these rights, privileges and 
enjoyments, it provided a learned and independent judiciary, capa- 
ble of restraining the plain excess of legislative and executive 
action in national affairs ; and of state sovereignty, whenever this 
should happen to exercise power, which the people had clearly 
vested in the sovereignty of the nation. 

At the time when Mr. Jefferson came in, the United States 
were prosperous under that system. The relations with all fo- 
reign nations (except two on the coast of Barbary) were pacific ; 
and with most of them, friendly. The public debt was insignifi- 
cant, compared with national means. At home, excepting the 
factious temper, (which Mr. Jefferson had done much to encou- 



212 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

rage,) all was well ; and never had any man a fairer opportunity 
to secure to himself an honorable fame, and to transmit his mem- 
ory to distant days as one of the worthiest of rulers our country 
had known. There was reason to expect that the party who had 
hoped nothing, but had feared everything from him, might have 
been unjustifiably prejudiced. 



LETTER XXXIX. 

Jems 27, 1833. 

In his inaugural speech, Mr. Jefferson soothed the serious ap- 
prehensions which w r ere entertained, as to the manner in which 
he might exercise executive power. "Let us reflect," says he, 
"that having banished from our land that religious intolerance 
under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet 
gained little, if we countenance an intolerence as despotic, as 
wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions." 
"Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. 
We have called by different names brethren of the same principles. 
We are all republicans, all federalists ." "If there be any among 
us, who would wish to dissolve this Union, or to change its re- 
publican form, let them stand undisturbed, as monuments of the 
safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated, w 7 hen reason 
is left free to combat it." From these declarations there was 
good reason to hope, that Mr. Jefferson intended to be the Presi- 
dent of the United States, and not the chief of an intolerant and 
vindictive party. Afflicted as the federalists may have been at 
seeing the executive power pass into his hands, they would have 
cheerfully sustained him in the exercise of it, if that exercise of 
power had been even in conformity with his own declarations. 
On the contrary, Mr. Jefferson did all he could to subvert every 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 213 

measure which the federal party had adopted, and to obliterate 
every trace of their administration. 

Whatever may be thought of the personal deportment of the 
two first Presidents, as essential to the maintenance and dignity 
of their stations, and to secure themselves from interruptions, and 
from the loss of time necessary in the discharge of public duties, 
it could not be agreeable to the nation, to see the abolition of all 
official dignity. This it was Mr. Jefferson's pleasure to do. He 
had no appropriate hours for visiting. He was accessible by any 
one, almost at any hour, and descended, at once, to the lowest 
level. To this example may be traced the scenes which are no- 
ticed at this day in the abode of the President, and which mortify 
our own community, and furnish a subject of ridicule to European 
travellers. 

The first contrast between Mr. Jefferson's inaugural declara- 
tions and his intended acts occurred early in 1801. Elizur Good- 
rich had been appointed collector of New Haven by Mr. Adams. 
In June he was removed, without any suggestion of incompetency, 
as to talents or integrity, and a partisan, by the name of Samuel 
Bishop, was appointed. This drew from the merchants and most 
respectable men of that city a calm remonstrance, in which they 
assert Goodrich's promptness, integrity and ability; and add, 
that these were qualities not to be found in Bishop. They also 
assert, that Bishop was nearly seventy-eight years of age, and so 
infirm as scarcely to be able to write his own name ; that he was 
unacquainted with revenue laws, or mercantile business, or even 
with the most simple forms of accounting. To this remonstrance 
Mr. Jefferson made an answer, on the 12th of July, in which he 
says, among other things : " Declarations by myself in favor of 
political tolerance, exhortations to harmony and affection in social 
intercourse, and respect for the equal rights of the minority have, 
on certain occasions, been quoted and misconstrued into assur- 
ances, that the tenure of offices was not to be disturbed. But 
could candor apply such a construction V 

It was thus manifested what Mr. Jefferson's construction of 



214 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

assurances would be, and what his acts would be, throughout his 
administration. 

In the memorable debate which arose on Mr. Jefferson's propo- 
sal to abolish the Courts, (House of Rep., Feb. 1802,) Mr. Giles's 
speech disclosed the hostility which the Jeffersonians entertained 
towards all federal measures from the first institution of the 
government. Mr. Bayard, in his masterly reply to Mr. Giles, 
states what the executive policy had already shown itself to be in 
dismissing worthy officers, and in appointing mere partisans. Mr. 
B. said: "If the eyes of the gentleman are delighted with victims, 
— if objects of misery are grateful to his feelings, — let me turn 
his view from the walks of the Judges to the track of the present 
executive. It is in this path that we see the real victims of stern, 
uncharitable, unrelenting power. It is here we see the soldier 
who fought the battles of the revolution, who spilt his blood, and 
devoted his strength to establish the independence of his country, 
deprived of the reward of his services, and left to pine in penury 
and wretchedness. It is along this path that you may see helpless 
children crying for bread, and gray hairs sinking in sorrow to the 
grave ! It is here, that no innocence, no merit, no truth, no ser- 
vices can save the unhappy sectary, who does not believe in the 
creed of those in power." 

That which the people of the United States ought to regard 
with abhorrence, in a President, is the implied invitation given 
by Mr. Jefferson to all political adversaries, to abandon their 
creeds and adopt his own ; and the clearly implied promise of re- 
ward for apostacy. This was a well-known mode of strengthening 
party, long before there were white Americans. Mr. Jefferson 
has the distinction of having introduced it into our republic. He 
carried it to its full extent, officially and privately. In no nation, 
no, not even in Rome, in its most corrupt days, has this deraoral- 
izing seduction been more effective than in our own land, since 
Mr. Jefferson became President. 

Opinions, long entertained, as to men and measures, and as to 
creeds in religion, are sometimes honestly and honorably aban- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 215 

doned, and opposite ones adopted. But a change cannot be ho- 
nest or honorable, where there is no new fact, nor any reason for 
viewing facts, before admitted, in any new light. Surely no 
change can be so, where the sudden convert realizes benefits, not 
to be had without apostacy. 

The distinction between parties was so marked in Mr. Jeffer- 
son's time, that there could be no half-way change. The con- 
vert could do nothing short of what is done by a deserter from 
an army. Those who went over to Jeffersonism had the only 
merit of being ashamed of their desertion. To cover this, and to 
prove their sincerity, they resorted to the bitterest condemnation 
of their former principles and associates. The most malignant 
libellers of federal men and of federal measures, were those who 
had been federalists themselves. Sustained by the salaries of 
office, and raised by titles above those they had deserted, they could 
clearly see how base, plotting, and traitorous some of their fellow- 
citizens were, with whom, but yesterday, they were proud to rank, 
and most zealous to uphold as worthy patriots. Trace such men 
through to the end, and how has it fared with them ? By adroit 
and timely desertions they may have found, for a while, office and 
emolument. But, how r is it with them, when they come to the 
searching question, what do my fellow -men think of me? A 
Csesar, an Augustus, a Napoleon cannot evade this question. The 
long list of dishonest deserters, which could be furnished, would 
show that few, in the revolutionary action of party, secured the 
good they sought ; and that all of them planted a thorn in con- 
science, which never withers, nor ceases to prick. This was one 
of the practical uses of Mr. Jefferson's "exhortation to harmony 
and affection in social intercourse." 

There were instances of departure from the federal side, dis- 
tinguishable from such as have been mentioned, and which did 
not deserve reproach. There were timid men, who did not en- 
tirely approve of federal views of the national policy ; others, who 
thought themselves not to have been sufficiently valued and re- 
spected by their federal associates ; and some, who were by nature 



216 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and inclination Jeflersonians, and who originally mistook their 
side, and very properly went over where they belonged. When 
one leaves the true line, circumstances force him further and fur- 
ther from it, and he must go over to the adversary finally, as 
there is no intermediate tenure. But in all cases of such change 
of opinion, there seems to have been a feeling, not unlike that in 
political changes of the present day. One, who goes over from 
the opposition to the Jackson ranks, feels that he has a defence 
to make ; while one who abandons Jacksonism holds his head up, 
and feels that he has done an act for which he may respect him- 
self. Thus in politics, as in morals, there is a sense of right and 
wrong, which men are alive to, whether they admit its influence 
or not. There are few Jackson men in the United States, (who 
can pretend to good sense and sound principle,) who do not feel 
a degree of shame that they are such. 

It is the disease of republics, that they give life and action to 
craving, knavish pretenders to integrity and patriotism. They 
are the humble servants of any power that has anything to be- 
stow. They are incompetent to gain their daily bread in any 
of the industrious orders of social life ; and must, therefore, be 
where they can catch the droppings of the treasury. Political 
chevaliers d? Industrie, they are ready to profess and to do anything 
that promises gain and power. But, such patriots must keep 
careful reckonings, and make accurate observations. They 
change their course once too soon or too late, and blunder ; and 
then all eyes are turned to the course which they have run. The 
wreck that follows has no one's sympathy or compassion. They 
learn, too late, that honesty is the best policy, no less in political, 
than in common affairs. There is rarely a Talleyrand among them. 
There is one hope for such men ; that is — if the republic can be 
converted into despotism, while they happen to be in favor, they 
may acquire a stability of position in supporting a tyranny, which 
will support them. 

Mr. Jefferson's followers have already made some improvements 
on bis theories. They have advanced now to the point, that the 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 217 

President, no, the man, who has been imposed upon the nation to 
hold that office, is "The Government." The laws, Congress, 
the judiciary, the constitution, are all nothing ; the man is every- 
thing. How far are we from a political Augustan age ? 

From the 4th of March, 1801, to the 7th of December, when 
Congress met, Mr. Jefferson had ample time to consider and de- 
termine, in what manner he would carry his will into effect, so 
far as legislative aid was thereto indispensable. He lost no time 
in disclosing, though with his accustomed plausibility, that all the 
fears which his opponents had entertained as to his policy, foreign 
and domestic, were to become realities ; and that all his dreaded 
purposes were to be enforced, in the full vigor of official power. 

It was common, thirty years ago, to charge Mr. Jefferson with 
deliberate wickedness in his office ; and to consider him as intend- 
ing to disregard all the obligations which honorable, moral men 
acknowledge. This was, probably, an injustice. It is more 
reasonable to suppose, that he had either a singular obliquity 
of perception, as to right and w 7 rong, both as a man and as an 
officer ; or that he had undergone some strange perversion from 
that rank of moral agents, to which he was by nature destined. 
His adversaries made no such apologies for him. They believed 
that he did wrong, knowing that it was wrong, and because he 
meant to do wrong. Accordingly they portrayed him in the 
public prints, at full length. Some of his friends had the indis- 
cretion to introduce some of the sketches to the notice of the 
House of Representatives in Massachusetts, at the session in 
January, 1805. The newspaper, in which the commentaries 
alluded to appeared, was published by the printers of the House. 
The object of the motion was to have the printers dismissed. It 
did not succeed. If these delineations of Mr. Jefferson were to 
go down as authentic proofs of the character of the man, he 
would fare but indifferently with that cool judgment of posterity, 
to which he confidently appeals. It is not intended to revive 
these personal criminations. Whether the assertions so made, 
were mere calumnies, or truths, modified as they may have been, 
19 



218 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

is immaterial to the present American public. His official con- 
duct is most material, not only to the community of this day, but, 
it is to be feared, that it may be so to every community, which is 
hereafter to arise in our country. 



LETTER XL. 

Juste 30, 1833. 
Mr. Jefferson's opinions on the Judiciary were among the 
most mischievous of any which he entertained. He had a rooted 
dislike to courts; particularly to those which were established at 
the recommendation of his friend, John Adams, as barriers against 
such encroachments as Mr. Jefferson was supposed to intend. 
These courts were not only constitutionally independent, but the 
judges, who had been placed therein, were nearly all federalists. 
If there be anything, which is capable of sustaining popular 
governments, and keeping their action within legitimate constitu- 
tional boundaries, it is a learned, self-respecting, independent judi- 
ciary. To make the administration of justice, and all questions 
on the excess of power, dependent on popular excitement, is to 
assume, that mere human passion is the best arbiter of right and 
wrong. On this subject, Mr. Jefferson entertained and dissemi- 
nated the most exceptionable doctrines. This seems to have been 
his theory: The people arc the sovereign; whatsoever they will is 
the law ; they choose me to declare their mil. My will is the law ; 
because the people's will can he no otherwise disclosed than by ex- 
jircssing my own. He seems to have been incapable of conceiv- 
ing, that the people established judicial courts to control all of 
their own number, who should violate their own laws; and to 
control their own legislators, if they exceeded the limits of au- 
thority which the people had assigned to them by the constitution. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 219 

Much less could he conceive that courts could bind him to do, or 
could prevent his doing, whatsoever he thought right. This was 
not turpitude in him, but inability to distinguish between right 
and wrong, as to the exercise of judicial power. 

Whether this view of Mr. Jefferson is a correct one or not, may 
be judged of by the following extracts from his volumes. How 
many much stronger expressions may have been found therein, if 
his editor had thought fit to publish all of them, can only be con- 
jectured. 

" The principal of them (federal leaders) have retreated into 
the judiciary, as a stronghold, the tenure of which renders it 
difficult to dislodge them." {Letter to Joel Barlow, March 14, 
1801, vol. iii. p. 458.) 

"The courts being so decidedly federal, and irremovable, it is 
believed that republican attorneys and marshals, being the doors of 
entrance into the courts, are indispensably necessary as a shield 
to the republican part of our fellow-citizens, which, I believe, is 
the main body of the people." {Letter to W. B. Giles, March 
23, 1801, vol. iii. p. 464.) 

The celebrated Luther Martin was counsel for Burr. Mr. Jef- 
ferson frequently wrote to George Hay, conductor of the prosecu- 
tion, during the trial. In a letter (June 19, 1807, vol. iv. p. 87), 
he says : " Shall we move to commit Luther Martin, as particeps 
criminis with Burr? Graybell will fix upon him misprision of 
treason at least ; and, at any rate, his evidence will put down this 
unprincipled and impudent federal bull-dog, and add another 
proof, that the most clamorous defenders of Burr are all his accom- 
plices." 

This is a picture of Thomas Jefferson, drawm by himself, and 
presented to the world by one of his own family ! Observe, that 
it is the chief executive officer of the United States, interposing 
in a judicial trial, to deprive the accused of counsel, who had no 
more to do with the crimes charged upon Burr than Jefferson had. 
" The judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sap- 
pers and miners, constantly working under ground, to undermine 



220 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the foundations of our confederated fabric. They are construing 
our constitution from a co-ordination of a general and special 
government, to a general and supreme one. This will lay all 
things at their feet; and they are too well versed in English law, 
to forget the maxim, bonijudicis est ampliare jurisdicUonem. We 
shall see if they are bold enough to make the stride their five 
lawyers have lately taken. If they do, then with the editor of 
our book, in his address to the public, I will say, 'that against 
this every man should raise his voice;' and more, should lift his 
arm.'" (Letter to T. Ritchie, December, 1820, vol. iv. p. 336.) 

In 1816, Mr. Jefferson appears to have been asked for an opinion, 
in a contemplated amendment of the Virginia constitution. He 
says, (vol. iv. p. 288,) "It has been thought the people are not 
competent electors of judges learned in the law, but I do not 
know that this is true; and if doubtful, we should follow the 
principle. In this, as in many other elections, they would be 
guided by reputation, which would not err oftener, perhaps, than 
the present mode of appointment." In page 289, he sums up 
his theories : " 1. General suffrage. 2. Equal representation in the 
legislature. 3. An executive chosen by the people. 4. Judges 
elective or amovable. 5. Justices, jurors and sheriffs elective." 

These were opinions on the judiciary, not to be wondered at in 
a man, who thought a rebellion, once in twenty years, a useful 
political occurrence. Such, however, were his opinions, after an 
experience in political life, prolonged through half a century. It 
has already been noticed, that when he had come into office, he 
assumed to pronounce laws, constitutionally enacted, and which 
had been pronounced by the highest judicial tribunal to be laws, 
absolutely void, because they had not his approbation. Mr. Jef- 
ferson was as much bound by laws which he disliked, as by any 
other laws, which he had sworn to execute. Thus, it was his 
opinion, that an act of the two branches of Congress, approved 

It i- nol recollected what Mr. Jefferson here refers to; either as to " five law- 
yers" "i as i" "our book." 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 221 

by the President, and decided by the Supreme Court to be con- 
stitutional, could be defeated by one man who happened to be 
raised to the executive power. 



LETTER XLI. 

July 7, 1S33. 

When Congress met in December, 1801, Mr. Jefferson's mes- 
sage, (for he chose to depart from the federal practice of going to 
meet Congress and making a speech, and because a speech may 
be answered, and a message cannot,) suggested a revision of all 
federal measures, and an abrogation of them, so far as they were 
within congressional reach. This was done in his own plausible 
manner. He had a subservient Congress, who needed only to 
know what he thought was right, to think it so themselves. He 
suggested the repeal of taxes, the reduction of the diplomatic 
corps, the hauling up of the navy, the abolition of offices, and 
revision of the judiciary system. The last suggestion was intend- 
ed to get at John Adams' "midnight judges" in their "strong- 
hold." He says, in his message, that he had sent into every state 
to inquire into the whole number of causes tried since the insti- 
tution of the national government, and should submit the result 
of his inquiries ; as though the number of suits was the measure of 
utility and necessity of the existing organization. In this session 
a bill was introduced to repeal the recent law re-organizing the 
courts. 

While this bill was under discussion, the highly respectable 
professional gentlemen of Philadelphia sent a memorial to Con- 
gress, in which they disclaimed all interference of a political na- 
ture, but begged leave to state facts within their own experience. 
Among other things they said : "That under the former law the 

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222 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

greatest inconveniences were experienced by the court, the bar 
and the suitors. That the judges were constantly engaged in 
traversing the states, with little opportunity for reflection or repose. 
Judges presided in states, the laws, usages, and practices of which 
were essentially different from those in which they were educated; 
and without adverting to the casualties of indisposition and wea- 
ther, the inevitable consequences of the late system were embar- 
rassment, uncertainty and delay." These gentlemen then goon 
to pronounce the highest eulogium on the new judges in their own 
circuit; the increased confidence in this tribunal, &c, "promises 
to render the court an honor and a benefit to the nation." They 
conclude by declaring that "the abolition of the court will pro- 
bably be attended with great public inconvenience." This me- 
morial was signed by thirty-seven persons, the first in age and 
eminence; and among others by Joseph B. M'Kean and A. J. 
Dallas, well known as two devoted friends of Mr. Jefferson. 

In the debate on this bill, the two great champions were James 
A. Bayard and William B. Giles. The former maintained with 
eminent ability, that Congress had not the power to deprive the 
judges of their stations by the indirect course of repealing the 
law under which they were appointed. But the day of Jeffer- 
sonian dominion had come. The question of constitutionality 
and of expediency was insignificant, when opposed to the Presi- 
dent's pleasure. The courts were abolished, and Mr. Jefferson 
had the gratification of signing a law, which expelled the federal 
judges from their "stronghold," and of seeing them all reduced 
to the rank of private citizens. The real evil in this matter is, 
that an example was thus given of the facility with which the 
judiciary may be subjected to the will of a party; this was in 
perfect accordance with Mr. Jefferson's notions of propriety. 
Some praise is due to Mr. Jefferson for not having demolished the 
Supreme Court as well as the Circuit Courts, that he might have 
routed Chief Justice Marshall, as to whom his volumes contain 
no equivocal opinion. This he might have done as legally as that 
which was done. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 223 

It cannot be too often brought to view, that the excellence of 
our government, in comparison with any ever before known, is 
that, while popular and elective, it has a power intended to con- 
trol other branches, when they transcend their powers. Demolish 
this branch, and the union of the two others would make a more 
terrible despotism than any one man can exercise, because it 
would be despotism with all the force of law. We have already 
seen a near approach to this, as we shall have occasion to notice 
in considering the embargo laws. It is true that the sovereign 
people may arrest such a combination by the right of election. 
But such combination arises from perversion of public opinion, 
and holds its supremacy by relying on that perversion. In such 
case, the slow, though sure process of the judiciary is the only 
remedy. Is it not surprising, that a vigilant and jealous com- 
munity should not so understand the meaning of its own delibe- 
rately adopted constitution ? Ought we not rather to wonder that 
our nation has preserved its republican forms so long, when such a 
man as Mr. Jefferson, construing the constitution as he did, was 
so long the popular idol ? The power of party is fearfully illus- 
trated by the fact, that there are so many men in this country, 
and in high stations too, who cannot be ignorant of the destructive 
tendency of Mr. Jefferson's doctrines, who nevertheless quote 
them as authorities. 

Mr. Jefferson may not have intended to abolish the Supreme 
Court; he does not appear to have attempted it. It is not known, 
from his volumes, that he took any part in the effort to remove 
the judges of that court. In the memorable trial, presently to be 
mentioned, it is not apparent from anything published, that he 
therein interested himself, excepting that he somewhere remarks, 
"the farce of impeachment will not be tried again." But as 
Judge Chase was impeached for his conduct in trying a citizen 
for the breach of a law, of which Mr. Jefferson had recommended 
a repeal ; and for his conduct in trying James Thompson Callen- 
der, (that man of science whom Mr. Jefferson befriended,) for the 
breach of a law which Mr. Jefferson adjudged to be unconstitu- 



024 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

tional and void, it is probable that the prosecution of Judge 
Chase had, at least, his entire approbation. If this magistrate 
could have been sacrificed, there would have been little difficulty 
in removing other obnoxious judges. Their seats would have 
been filled by men, who would have had an eye to executive 
pleasure, however they might have seemed to the people. This 
would have been better suited to Mr. Jefferson's purpose, than an 
abolition of the court, which he cannot be supposed to have de- 
sired. 

The trial of Judge Chase is one of the most remarkable events 
in the history of our country, whether considered in relation to 
the accused, to the character of the accusation, the members of the 
court before which the trial was had, or the motives and labors 
of those who conducted the defence ; remarkable, indeed, that the 
person who presided at the trial (Burr) was then under indictment 
for murder, and was two years afterwards prosecuted by Mr. Jef- 
ferson, and arraigned and tried on the charge of treason ; but not 
remarkable that Mr. Jefferson hoped to make out a sufficient 
cause for impeaching the presiding judge, at the latter trial. 

Samuel Chase was born in Maryland. He was at the head of 
the patriot party in that state, during the revolutionary days. He 
was a signer of the declaration of independence. But he was a 
federalist. At the time of the trial on impeachment before the 
Senate, he was nearly sixty-four years old, and much impaired 
in bodily strength. In his full vigor, he was a man of Herculean 
frame and vigorous mind ; a learned and honest man no doubt, 
but not of courteous manners on the bench.* 

In preparation for the expected hostilities with France, in Mr. 
Adams' time, a law was passed in July, 1798, for a valuation of 

* An anecdote of Judge Chase is remembered, as told by one who was present 
on the occasion, and which is related here, to give some idea of the manners of this 
gentleman in private life. 

During the winter of 1795-G, a large dinner-party was given to the Judge by Mr. 
Bin gh a m , al his residence in Third Street, Philadelphia, now the Mansion House- 
Judge Chase wa thi right hand of his hostess. Upon taking his seat at 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 225 

houses, lands and slaves ; and in the same month, another act 
was passed, for assessing a direct tax, in conformity to such valu- 
ation. In February and March following, an insurrection oc- 
curred in the western part of Pennsylvania, to resist the execution 
of these laws. Among the insurgents was John Fries. This 
man was tried before Judge Paterson, in April following, at Phil- 
adelphia. The fact of resisting the execution of the law was 
clearly proved. The defence was: "to resist by force of arms 
a particular law of the United States, does not amount to ' levying 
war' against the United States, within the true meaning of the 
constitution, and therefore is not treason, but a riot only." Judge 
Paterson and Judge Peters, (district judge,) held such resistance 
to be treason. A new trial was had, not on account of erroneous 
opinion on the law, but because a juror had expressed, before he 
was sworn on the trial, an opinion unfavorable to the accused. 
In April, 1800, Fries was again tried. Before the trial, Judge 
Chase put his opinion of the law in writing; which was in con- 
formity with that of Judge Paterson. This opinion he caused to 
be copied, one copy for the counsel of Fries, one for the attorney 
for the United States, and one was intended to be given to the 
jury when they retired, and to be carried out by them and used 
in their deliberations in finding a verdict. 

the table, he adjusted his spectacles to scan the superb repast spread before him, 
but which, unfortunately for him, had been prepared by a French cook. Having 
searched in vain for some familiar dish, he turned to the lady of the house ; " very 
pretty dinner, Madam, but there is not a thing on your table I can eat." With her 
habitual presence of mind and urbanity of manner, the accomplished Mrs. Bing- 
ham inquired of her guest whether she could procure anything suitable to his tastes. 
"A beef-steak, or a piece of roast-beef, Madam," replied the judge, "would please 
me better than anything else." A servant was immediately called, a word whis- 
pered in his ear, whereupon he vanished; very soon afterwards this servant reap- 
peared, bearing with him a dish of roast-beef, which the Judge attacked with vigor 
and appetite, washing it down with a couple of bottles of brown-stout, in lieu of 
French wines. Having concluded his labors, he turned to his hostess, and with a 
satisfied air, exclaimed: "There, Madam, I have made a sensible, and an excellent 
dinner, but no thanks to your French cook !" 



0-26 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

When Fries was brought in for trial, and before the jury were 
sworn, the judge informed his counsel that he had put this opinion 
in writing, to show what the meaning of "levying war," according 
to the constitution, was understood by the courtto be. Mr. Lewis 
and Mr. Dallas, counsel for Fries, notwithstanding Judge Chase 
informed them, that they would be permitted to offer arguments 
to the court to show them that they were mistaken in the law, 
said, that they did not any longer consider themselves as counsel 
for the prisoner. The prisoner was asked, whether the court 
should appoint other counsel; and he declined having any. The 
trial proceeded without counsel, Fries having challenged thirty- 
four jurors. He was convicted and sentenced, and afterwards 
pardoned by President Adams. This transaction was one ground 
of impeachment. 

The trial of J. T. Callender occurred in the month of May, 
1800, at Richmond. The ground of impeachment, in this case, 
was the alleged illegal and oppressive conduct of the judge. The 
charges against Callender were for expressions in his " Prospect 
before Us," concerning John Adams, some of which have been 
noticed in a former page.* A minute examination would require 
more space than this subject is now worth. The impeachment 
w r as drawn up, in relation to this trial, with extreme particularity, 
and with all the bitterness of malignant party spirit. 

* See page 162. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 227 



LETTER XLII. 

July 10, 1833. 

In January, 1804, John Randolph, jr., moved the impeachment 
against Judge Chase, which was carried about two to one ; but it 
was not prosecuted until the following session, in November. On 
the 2d of January, 1805, Judge Chase appeared before the Sen- 
ate, and the 4th of February was assigned for his trial. The 
Senate Chamber 'was fitted up in an appropriate manner, and with 
places for various official dignitaries. The accused appeared 
with Luther Martin, R. G. Harper, and Joseph Hopkinson, as his 
counsel. The managers, on the part of the House, were Messrs. 
Randolph, Rodney, Nicholson, Clark, Campbell, Boyle and Early. 
The pleas and answer took nearly four hours in the reading; the 
Judge read the introductory part, Mr. Harper then read more than 
an hour, Mr. Hopkinson continued the reading two hours, and the 
accused read the concluding part, in the most solemn and im- 
pressive manner. This able and eloquent answer was in itself a 
complete refutation of the criminality of the charges. The prose- 
cution was not considered, at the time, to have been so ably as 
malignantly conducted, so far as party feeling was involved. But 
the counsel of Judge Chase did themselves the highest honor, as 
lawyers, as men of kind feelings, as gentlemen and as orators. 
Mr. Hopkinson, though then a young man, acquired for himself an 
exalted reputation. The two other counsel had long been of 
established fame. The trial lasted until the first of March, when 
the Judge was acquitted. The whole number of Senators was 
thirty-four. Two-thirds of the whole must have concurred in a 
conviction. To what extent it was merely a political experiment 
may be judged of by the answer to the question, Is the accused 
guilty, or not guilty? There were eight distinct charges. The 



228 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

federalists, viz.— Mr. ./. Q. Adams,' Mass.; Mr. Bayard, Del.; 
Mr. Bradley, Vt. ; Mr. Dayton, N. J. ; Mr. Hillhouse, Conn. ; Mr. 
Mitchell, N. Y. ; Mr. Olcott, Vt.; Mr. Pickering, Mass.; Mr. 
Plumer, N. H. ; Mr. AnftA, Va. ; Mr. £mt7/>, N. Y. ; Mr. Smith, 
Ohio ; Mr. Tracy, Conn. ; Mr. White, Del., voted not guilty, on 
all the charges; so also did Mr. Gaillard, S. C, who is not sup- 
posed to have been a federalist.! Those who answered that 
Judge Chase was guilty, on some of the charges, and who are 
supposed to have been all Jeffersonians, were the following: 
Messrs. Anderson, Baldwin, Brackenridge, Brown, Cocke, Condit, 
Ellery, Franklin, Giles, Howland, Jackson, Logan, Maclay, Moore, 
Samuel Smith, Stone, Sumpter, Worthington, Wright. The an- 
swers of the latter class were very much varied ; no one con- 
sidered the accused as guilty on all the charges. So this experi- 
ment to subject the judiciary to the executive and legislative 
departments failed in this instance, if such was the design. 

This trial may be considered under different aspects. The 
President, the judges, and other civil officers may be guilty of 
high crimes and misdemeanors, in their official stations, and some 
provision must exist for their removal, and disqualification to hold 
office in future. This provision may be righteously, or oppres- 
sively carried into effect. To what end it was applied, in this 
instance, all may judge from the circumstances of the case, and 
from the temper of the prosecution. 

' This trial i fore Mr. Adams had changed his opinions as to the fede- 

ral party. 

is an erroi to the author, who would have rectified any 

osl willingly, this error is corrected. This vote was 

mere party ■. ■ b it has often been so represented, and it is due to 

the memory of Judge Chase to say so. A above as Federalists, 

and who voted "not guilty," are Bradley of Vt; Mitchell of N. V.: Smith of N. Y.; 

S h of Va., (this should 1 :Vt.;) all of whom were Democrats, and never had 

anv pretensions to b - Smith of Ohio, may have 

- — The ab ogether with die Federalists named, voted 
. and so did a majority of the Senate on all charges 



ft 
ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 229 

The acts, charged as crimes, were done nearly five years before 
the trial, and during the federal administration. The accusation 
was made in a House of Representatives, of which two-thirds of 
its members were there, because they were opponents of that 
administration. The accusation was to be heard and tried in a 
tribunal, a large majority of whose members were of the same po- 
litical cast. There was an expectation that the accused could not 
escape a judgment of condemnation. It is a disheartening truth, 
that, in the best of governments which men have invented, the 
malignity of passion may assume all the attributes of impartial 
justice; and that the promptings of personal hostility may infuse 
a spirit into a body of men, which impels them to do, in their 
official stations, such acts as each one of them alone would be 
ashamed to do. That which is still more disheartening is, that, 
as this country grows older, and as its population increases, and 
its parties become more and more embittered, those who submit, 
through ignorance or fraud, to the influence of party delusion, 
will avail themselves of the constitutional machinery, to remove 
and to crush political adversaries. In all such painful forebodings, 
it is impossible to free one's self from the belief, that Mr. Jeffer- 
son, whether he so intended to do or not, has, by his example and 
his opinions, done more than any other man to mislead and per- 
vert his fellow-citizens. His theories of social union and orov- 
ernment were irrational and impracticable. He substituted mere 
popular impulse, which cunning men can make to be what they 
will, for the enlightened and honest application of abstract rules. 
Popular election, really intended to be the protective power which 
the people have reserved to themselves, was converted by him 
into the dangerous engine, by which the people themselves may 
be enslaved, and made to rejoice in their own chains, since it is 
their own act which puts them on. There are numerous instances 
in proof that this may be so. To say nothing of events in the 
decline of the Roman republic, there are proofs enough in the re- 
cent history of France. At this day, the President of the United 
States is sustained in his views of constitutional power by the popu- 
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230 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

lar will. That will is none other than his own. It makes no differ- 
ence, whether a majority stand ready to ratify and applaud all that 
ident calls right, or whether the popular will is created by 
such means as Mr. Jefferson was supposed to have organized, and 
to have bequeathed to his countrymen, as his mode of "bringing 
ha, I, (!,, cm titution (oils original principles." 



LETTER XLIII. 

September 3, 1833. 
The great achievement of Mr. Jefferson's first four years, was 
the purchase of Louisiana. This country had belonged, in early 
days, to the French, whence its name. It was afterwards ceded 
to Spain, with the Floridas; thus there was a territory, which 
stretched across the Mississippi, and extended southwardly to the 
ocean, in the possession of a foreign power. In Washington's 
time, (October 27th, 1795,) a treaty w r as made with Spain, where- 
by this right was secured : "His Catholic Majesty will permit the 
citizens of the United States, for the space of three years from 
this time, to deposit their merchandize and effects in the port of 
New Orleans, and export them from thence, without paying any 
other duty than a fair price for the hire of stores ; and his majesty 
either promises to continue this permission, &c, or if he should 
not agree to continue it there, he will assign to them, on another 
part of the hanks of the Mississippi, an equivalent establishment." 
In the same year, 1795, a treaty, offensive and defensive, had 
been made between France and Spain. In 1801 and 1802, the 
Spaniards, under the influence of France, committed the most 
offensive aggressions, wherever they came in contact with Ameri- 
can shipping or citizens. They captured and carried into their 
ports more than 130 American vessels; seized and imprisoned 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 231 

the American consul at a port in the island of Cuba ; and as early 
as October, 1802, Morales, Intendant of Louisiana, gave notice, 
that American citizens would no longer be permitted to deposit 
their goods at New Orleans ; nor was any " equivalent establish- 
ment" assigned. These wrongs, on the part of Spain, were well 
known to Mr. Jefferson long before the meeting of Congress in 
December of this year, 1802. But the message was entirely si- 
lent concerning all Spanish aggressions. In January, 1803, the 
House of Representatives called on the executive for information, 
and the fact of the interruption of the right of deposit was com- 
municated ; and, at the same time, a secret message was sent, 
and debated with closed doors. This message is too long to be 
copied, and is not worth the labor. It shows only the sort of 
policy pursued by Mr. Jefferson, which must be apparent on 
many other occasions. 

On demanding of Spain to redress this wrong, and to comply 
with the treaty stipulation, the American minister was informed, 
that Louisiana had been ceded to France. Mr. Jefferson then 
undertook, without consulting Congress, to purchase Louisiana of 
France for fifteen millions of dollars; and to incorporate its in- 
habitants with those of the United States. The people of that 
country were a mixture of Spaniards and Frenchmen, in number 
about two hundred and fifty thousand. The time taken for this 
measure was during the peace of Amiens, as it was called, which 
lasted from March, 1802, to the 17th of May, 1803. The pur- 
chase was concluded in April, 1803. On the 13th of March, 
Napoleon announced, at an audience of foreign ministers, the 
approaching rupture with England. 

This was a perilous and extraordinary assumption of power ; 
and was most seriously condemned, on principle, by all the oppo- 
nents of the administration. Mr. Jefferson admitted, that he had 
no constitutional right to make this purchase. It was said, at the 
time, that one object was to aid France ; the other, to escape the 
responsibility of assertingfthe rights of the United States by force. 

The federal party were reproached for their opposition to this 



232 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

wise measure ; but if the subject be viewed as it then appeared, 
they were clearly right. 1. The title of France was contingent. 
The treaty of Spain and France provided, that if the Duke of 
Parma, son-in-law of the King of Spain, were made King of 
Etruria, that within six months afterwards, Louisiana should be 
ceded to France. Of course, the title was to be made. 2. The 
boundaries of Louisiana were left undefined, furnishing thereby 
a cause of future contentions. 3. The promise of a title was 
fraudulently obtained from Spain, by the ministry of Godoy, whose 
acts Spain might, at some future day, disavow. 4. The French 
subjects of Louisiana could, and would, probably, have made any 
treatment of them by the United States, a sufficient claim to the 
interposition of Bonaparte to protect them. 5. The patronage 
acquired by the President over this territory was little short of a 
royal authority. 6. There was a provision, that the inhabitants 
of Louisiana should be citizens of the United States. It would 
have required an amendment of the constitution to make them 
such, which amendment was never made nor proposed. 7. Louis- 
iana was then not in possession of France, but of Spain ; and the 
treaty of purchase itself provides, that a French commissioner 
should go out to receive possession from the Spanish officers, and 
make a delivery to the United States. These (and many more 
objections might be stated) were very sufficient grounds to the 
opposition, to say nothing of the price, alleged bribery, and hurry 
of the transaction. At the time of signing the treaty, it was well 
known that war between France and England was inevitable, that 
the bargain must be forthwith made, or that the opportunity of 
favoring France would be lost. Within twenty days hostilities 
were renewed. 

This diplomatic operation has proved to be far more advan- 
tageous to the United States, than there was any ground even to 
hope for, thirty years ago. The fears then entertained, have dis- 
appeared in the changes which have occurred in the power, and 
in the probable designs both of France and Spain, in relation to 
this country. And also, that whatever Mr. Jefferson's motives 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 233 

may have been, and however assuming to make this purchase, it 
was certainly better to have made it, and in whole, than to have 
had either a Spanish or French colony on the banks of the Mis- 
sissippi. Thus, Mr. Jefferson was so fortunate as to find, that an 
act which would have called for an impeachment under some cir- 
cumstances, is now regarded as the most meritorious of his public 
life. It will be seen, hereafter, how well founded the apprehen- 
sions of Mr. Jefferson's opponents were. With respect to the 
sum, (fifteen millions,) it was probably thrice as much as needed 
to have been given ; because Bonaparte knew, at the time of the 
purchase, that on renewal of the war, the whole country of Louis- 
iana would be taken possession of by the British ; and would 
consequently be lost both to France and Spain. 

Mr. Jefferson's merits in this purchase are not to be estimated 
by the subsequent turn of affairs in Europe, as to France and 
Spain, which no one foresaw or imagined; and least of all men 
should Mr. Jefferson applaud himself, since he wished and believed 
that Bonaparte would subdue England, instead of being subdued 
and exiled himself. If Mr. Jefferson's ardent wishes had been 
realized, the people of the United States would have regretted the 
expenditure of their millions, which would have become necessary 
in defence against the man to whom they were given. In fact, 
this brilliant achievement was a humiliating, degrading policy in 
itself, and should be the least of all Mr. Jefferson's claims to an 
honorable fame, notwithstanding it has proved, so far as can now 
be discerned, a useful measure, excepting in the amount which 
it cost. 

The worshipers of Mr. Jefferson (see July No., 1834, of North 
American Review) vaunt of the purchase of Louisiana, as though 
Mr. Jefferson foresaw, and intended to provide for the existence 
of a great commercial city on the banks of the Mississippi. Mr. 
Jefferson's opinions on commerce and cities are better ascertained 
than any others which he had. It is assertion in the face of Mr. 
Jefferson's own declarations, that he wished to promote any of the 
benefits which have arisen from this purchase. The evidence is 

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234 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

irresistible, that he was governed by that policy which character- 
izes timid and irresolute men, who are always among the bravest, 
where there is no danger. He seems to have wished to have 
Napoleon successful, and yet to have dreaded the consequences 
of that success. He wished to have England conquered, yet 
feared the "Republican Emperor" would not stop at that con- 
quest. He relieved himself by giving whatsoever the Emperor 
demanded.* 

* "And what is to be our security, that when embarked for her (England) in 
the war, she will not make a separate peace and leave us in the lurch? Her good 
faith! The faith of a nation of Merchants! The Punica fides of modern Car- 
thage!" (.lefferson to Governor John Langdon, [who was himself a merchant,] 
vol. iv., p. 146.) 

"And have our commercial citizens merited from their country the encountering 
another war to protect their gambling enterprises V (Jefferson to John Adams, June 
10, IS 15, vol. iv., p. 262.) 

"The proportion, which the aggregate of other classes of citizens bears, in any 
state, to that of its husbandmen, is the proportion of its unsound to its healthy 
parts ; and is a good enough barometer, whereby to measure its degree of cor- 
ruption." 

"The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government, 
as sores do to the strength of the human body.'' (Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, pp. 
240,241.) 

" Our commercial dashers, then, have already cost us so many thousand lives, so 
many millions of dollars more than their persons and all their commerce were 
worth." (Jefferson to W. H. Crawford, June 20, 1816, vol. iv., p. 284.) 

"A republican emperor, from his affection to republics, independent of motives of 
expediency, must grant to us the Cyclops' boon of being the last devoured." (Jef- 
ferson to Langdon, March 5, 1810, vol. iv.,p. 145.) 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 235 



LETTER XLIV. 

September 7, 1833, 

Among the best legislative acts of John Adams's presidency, 
was the law for regulating the admission of aliens to citizenship. 
It is not enough that this country opens its ports to all men, where- 
soever born, and howsoever educated ; and whether educated or 
not ; and secures to them protection of person and property. Is it 
right and just, relatively to our own citizens, to confer on aliens 
an equal share in the sovereignty, after a short residence, whether 
such aliens do, or do not know anything of the institutions of this 
country? Whether Mr. Jefferson considered the restrictive pro- 
visions of the recent law inexpedient in themselves; or whether 
he included that law in his general condemnation of all federal 
measures, merely because they were such, is doubtful. If the 
former, his policy was erroneous ; if the latter, it was only charac- 
teristic. No country but the United States ever adopted (it is 
believed) such a policy. Its operation in some of the maritime 
cities is felt to be a serious evil, whatever it may ^fe in the new 
states. Even the latter have derived no benefit from it, compared 
with its disadvantages. Impolitic as it may be, it is one of the 
evils which Mr. Jefferson has sanctioned ; and there is little hope 
now, that it will ever be removed, by returning to the wise provi- 
sions of the law of which Mr. Jefferson recommended the repeal. 
As the law is now construed, any alien who makes a previous 
declaration of two years' standing, in certain courts, of inten- 
tion to become a citizen, may become such, with some ceremonies 
easily accomplished. 

In proposing the repeal of the naturalization law, as it had been 
recently amended, as a federal measure, Mr. Jefferson in his mes- 
sage of December, 1802, uses these words: 

"I cannot omit recommending a revisal of the laws on the 



236 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

subject of naturalization. Considering the ordinary chances of 
human life, a denial of citizenship under a residence of fourteen 
years, is a denial to a great proportion of those who ask for it ; 
and controls a policy pursued from their first settlement, by many 
of these states, and still believed of consequence to their posterity. 
And shall we refuse to the unhappy fugitives from distress that 
hospitality, which the savages of the wilderness extended to our 
fathers arriving in this land ? Shall oppressed humanity find no 
asylum on this globe ? The constitution, indeed, has wisely pro- 
vided that, for admission to certain offices of important trust, a 
residence shall be required sufficient to develop character and 
design. But might not the general character and capabilities of 
a citizen be safely communicated to every one manifesting a bond 
fide purpose of embarking his life and fortunes permanently with 
us? With restrictions, perhaps, to guard against the fraudulent 
usurpation of our flag; an abuse which brings so much embarrass- 
ment and loss on the genuine citizen, and so much danger to the 
nation of being involved in war, that no endeavor should be spared 
to detect and suppress it." 

This is a genuine Jeffersonian paragraph. Is it to be most ad- 
mired for its clearness in communicating the writer's thoughts ; for 
its elegancepof expression; for its sound policy; for its paternal 
care of the American flag; or for its wise precaution in keeping 
the nation from war, to protect aliens? Every benefit that Mr. 
Jefferson desired for aliens, they had, as the law was when this 
message was sent, except the right of voting and of holding real 
estate. Alienage is not a bar to purchasing, and holding, and 
alienating real estate ; though it is to transmitting it to heirs. In 
some states, aliens may hold real property for all purposes for 
which a native citizen may hold it. Mr. Jefferson must have de- 
sired, therefore, principally to vest in them the right of suffrage, 
which is a very interesting point to native citizens, considering 
the great number of foreigners "arriving in this land." There 
have been some arguments against such a policy; and among 
others, these : 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 237 

"It is for the happiness of those united in society to harmonize, 
as much as possible, in matters which they must of necessity trans- 
act together. Civil government being for the sole object of forming 
societies, its administration must be conducted by common con- 
sent. Every species of government has its specific principles. 
Ours are more peculiar, perhaps, than those of any other in the 
universe. It is a composition of the freest principles of the Eng- 
lish constitution, with others derived from natural right and natural 
reason. To these nothing can be more opposed than the maxims 
of absolute monarchies. Yet from such we are to expect the 
greatest number of emigrants. They will bring with them the 
principles of the government they leave, imbibed in their early 
youth ; or, if able to throw them off, it will be in exchange for an 
unbounded licentiousness, passing, as is usual, from one extreme to 
another. It would be a miracle were they to stop precisely at the 
point of temperate liberty. In proportion to their numbers, they 
will share with us the legislation. Suppose twenty millions of 
republican Americans thrown all of a sudden into France, what 
would be the condition of that kingdom ? If it would be more 
turbulent, less happy, less strong, we may believe that the addition 
of half a million of foreigners to our present numbers would pro- 
duce a similar effect here." 

This is Mr. Jefferson's own argument, taken from his "Notes 
on Virginia," pages 125, 126. Probably it was enough to change 
his views, that the recent naturalization law had been made by 
federalists. If not, sufficient reasons may be found in the policy, 
disclosed in his administration, with respect to England ; and 
plainly descernible in his message on naturalization. 

While it is readily admitted, that every department of industry, 
the bar, diplomacy, legislation, and even the bench, has had orna- 
ments of transatlantic origin, which are honorable to the country, 
yet the most expansive philanthropy cannot embrace all the 
human beings which Europe throws forth, to the extent of con- 
ferring on them, (almost at the moment of arrival,) a participation 
in political sovereignty. It is right to give to a stranger kindness 



238 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and hospitality, as long as he is worthy of them ; but it is the 
excess of folly to allow him an equal voice in the government of 
the family, and a claim to share the inheritance in common with 
its members. If Mr. Jefferson had done no other ill-advised act, 
than thus throwing open the avenue to citizenship, it would be 
enough to deprive him of all consideration as a far-sighted, patri- 
otic statesman. 

If there could be a discrimination between such aliens as would 
understand and value our institutions, and those who cannot, or 
who do understand only to pervert them, naturalization might be 
useful both to aliens and the country. There can be but one rule 
for all ; and the country is in no such want of population as to 
apply that rule to its own injury. It may happen that some good 
citizens are excluded by such a rule as that adopted in Mr. Adams's 
time, but this w r eighs nothing against the evil of indiscriminate 
admission.* 



LETTER XLV. 

September 11, 1833. 

A navy is indispensable to a commercial country, and to no 
one more than to the United States. It now T has the unqualified 
confidence and respect of the whole nation. Washington began 
it in fact, whoever may contend for the honor of originating the 
establishment. In Mr. Adams's time, it attained to some celebrity, 
and was growing in respect and confidence. What sort of a navy 

* The majority of the city of New York, it is said, indicates the majority of the 

tate; and this, the majority of the nation. What would have heen the majority 

in that city, for years past, if Thomas Jefferson had not asked of Congress to repeal 

the law made in John Adams's time? And what connection had this matter with 

i of Andrew Jackson? 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 239 

was it ? Such as other commercial nations have established and 
ever must establish, to meet the naval force of any other country. 
It consisted of ships, well armed, officered, manned and dis- 
ciplined. One of the earliest built ships is still the pride of the 
nation ("Old Ironsides"). Now what did the economical and 
philosophic Mr. Jefferson think it best for this commercial country 
to do with this infant navy ? He recommended its reduction, and 
would, probably, have been glad to see it annihilated. There is 
no way of knowing, from what Mr. Jefferson said, what he really 
intended, so far as his " messages" expressed his meaning. When 
he came into power, there were fifteen frigates and twelve smaller 
ships. The former were immediately reduced to nine and the 
latter to two. Instead of such vessels of war as other maritime 
nations have, he substituted a quantity of gun boats, which were 
fit for nothing but to destroy the lives of those who attempted to 
navigate them. A small boat with one great gun mounted on 
its bow, was well adapted to roll over in a heavy sea; and so it 
proved on actual experiment, and Mr. Jefferson's gun-boats have 
long been abandoned ; and even he seems to have been convinced 
of the folly of the invention. He says himself, " This species of 
naval armament can have little effect towards protecting our com- 
merce in the open seas, even upon our own coasts." This was 
an unexpected concession, and could have been drawn forth only 
by the truth, reluctantly admitted, that fifty such boats w r ere so 
many egg-shells against a fifty-gun ship. In the " open sea" they 
were useless, and if good for anything anywhere, it could only be 
in shallow water, where no enemy's vessel could come. 

Then as to the economy of this armament. It appears from 
the official report of Mr. P. Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, 
soon after Mr. Madison came to the presidency — 

That the frigate President of 56 guns, cost $221,000 

Fifty-six gun-boats, would cost 496,000 

Annual expense of a 56 gun-frigate 120,000 

Annual expense of 56 gun-boats 655,200 

Balance against gun-boats 535,200 



240 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Each gun in a frigate is supposed to be maintained 

ai an annual expense of $ 2,142 

Each gun, in a gun-boat, at an annual cost of 11,700 

This o-un-boat scheme is a fair illustration of the utility and 
economy of Mr. Jefferson's administration. This sort of " arma- 
ment," if such it can be called, seems to have been authorized 
by act of Congress in 1803. Mr. Jefferson kept it up during his 
presidency. It disappeared soon after his retirement. 

It is not distinctly remembered, after the lapse of nearly thirty 
years, how Mr. Jefferson's eulogists considered this exploit of the 
o-un-boats ; nor whether they applauded Mr. Jefferson for his 
ingenuity in devising means for conquering the enemies of the 
country, or of defending it against their attempts at conquest ; nor 
whether they applauded him for his tenderness in guarding the 
money taken from "the mouth of labor;" or only for his philoso- 
phy. But this is remembered, that among those who were of his 
party it was always certain, that a federal President could not do 
right, and that Mr. Jefferson could not do wrong. 



LETTER XL VI. 

Septembeh If), 1833. 

Louisiana having been purchased, a question soon arose as to 
boundaries ; no other description being given in the treaty, than 
that the territory purchased was that which France held before 
Spain acquired it. Mr. Jefferson considered this to mean an extent 
of country eastwardly from the Mississippi to the bay of Perdido. 
Spain, then holding Florida, insisted that the limit was the 
river Iberville ; thus cutting off about 30,000 square miles. This 
disputed territory had already been made a collection district by 
act of Congress. When Spain denied the claim of the United 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 241 

States and forcibly expelled American citizens from this territory, 
Bonaparte was applied to for an explanation. He answered, that 
France had no right beyond the Iberville, and, consequently, 
could not mean to sell any. Spain, displeased with the cession 
to the United States, refused to treat, insisting that the Iberville 
was the boundary. While affairs were in this condition, two re- 
markable events occurred, the Miranda expedition and the be- 
ginning of Burr's proceedings in the west. Both these affairs are 
very extraordinary in their details, but cannot be followed out in 
these sketches, further than may be necessary to show the charac- 
ter of Mr. Jefferson's administration. 

Miranda was the grandson of the governor of Caraccas. He 
was in France in the early part of the revolution, and went through 
a variety of fortune, as a military officer in the French service, 
and as a persecuted individual, as successive factions arose. In 
1806, he devoted himself to emancipate South America ; and 
knowing of the hostile spirit which had arisen between Spain and 
the United States, he came hither in the hope of advancing his 
project. He openly fitted out and armed a ship called the Lean- 
der, in the port of New York. Several Americans having, or 
supposing they had the assent, or approbation of the government 
of the United States, aided Miranda in this expedition; and a 
number of young men of respectable connections embarked on 
board the Leander, and departed with Miranda, all which was 
supposed to be well known at Washington, as no secret was made 
of the purpose of Miranda. 

The following is copied from a volume, entitled "Memoirs of 
Thomas Jefferson." Whether the facts therein stated are true, 
or not, must be judged of from other facts winch are not disputa- 
ble. Miranda, " in December, 1805, went to Washington, where 
he had an interview with Mr. Madison, the Secretary of State, 
and laid before him and the President a plan of an expedition 
against the Caraccas. He showed them letters from friends in 
that country, which went to prove, at least, the great probability 
of success ; and unfolded to them a plan of the government, which 
21 



242 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

he meant to establish in those provinces. The President atten- 
tively perused and considered the plan ; kept it twenty-four hours, 
and then returned it to the General (Miranda), with expressions 
of much approbation. Miranda urged the co-operation of the 
American government. Mr. Madison replied, that Congress did 
not approve of going to war with Spain. Miranda replied, that 
though government should not be disposed to aid him, he would 
carry the plan into execution himself, provided they would not 
interfere with his preparations, to which the Secretary made 
answer, that provided Miranda proceeded with proper precaution, 
so as not to commit them, the government would shut their eyes 
upon the matter. With this assurance Miranda returned to New 
York to make preparations." 

There is some probability of the truth of this account from the 
fact, that Colonel William S. Smith, son-in-law to John Adams, 
was made acquainted with the design, and permitted his son, 
William Steuben Smith, to accompany Miranda. Mr. Samuel G. 
Ogden furnished Miranda with the ship Leander, to proceed to 
the town of Caraccas, and to land him there, or as near thereto 
as might be. Miranda carried out 180 men, large quantities of 
military stores, two printing presses, and a number of journeymen 
printers. All this was conducted so openly, as to be a subject of 
common conversation. The ship was regularly cleared at the 
custom-house, and remained several days afterwards in port, to 
increase the number of men. All this, with the exception of 
Miranda himself, and, perhaps, a very few others, was American. 
The Leander sailed early in 1806. 

On the 1st of March, 1806, Colonel Smith and Mr. Ogden were 
arrested on a warrant of Judge Tallmadge, and being brought 
before him, each was informed, that he was called on to give 
evidence against the other. Questions were propounded, and 
these gentlemen were threatened with imprisonment, if they did 
not answer. Finding this consequence inevitable, they made and 
signed a written declaration of what they knew. A most re- 
markable prosecution was carried on against these two men by a 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 243 

Jeffersonian judge ; all of which may now be seen of record; but 
when it came to the opinion of a jury, they were honorably acquit- 
ted. One would like to know what Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madi- 
son had to do'with this prosecution ; what motives they had for 
countenancing this expedition of the Leander up to the hour of 
her departure ; and then turning upon Smith and Ogden, to sacri- 
fice them in the forms of a judicial process. May it not have been 
for two purposes? first, to have all the mischief done to Spain 
which Miranda contemplated ? and, secondly, to exculpate them- 
selves, if Spain or France should complain ? If such were the 
motives, what name should be given to such statesmen ? The 
end of this expedition was unfortunate enough for those who 
engaged in it. They were taken, and most of them ended their 
lives in Spanish dungeons. The gallant and accomplished Mi- 
randa was sent to Spain, and confined in the dungeons of the 
Inquisition at Cadiz, where he died at the end of four years. He 
was called "the earliest martyr of freedom in Spanish America." 

As to "Burr's conspiracy," this unfortunate man, on leaving 
the vice-presidency, in 1805, became a wanderer. He appeared 
in the western states, in the course of that year; and there 
attempted to carry into effect some designs, but precisely of 
what character is not certain. It may be, that he calculated 
on a war with Spain, and intended to advance his own inte- 
rests under the supposed approbation of the administration, as 
Miranda did. It may be, that he intended to possess himself 
of Mexico ; or, perhaps, to plunder New Orleans ; or to sever the 
Union with the aid of Spain, and found a western empire ; per- 
haps he intended, as a last resort, to effect a settlement of lands 
on the rivfrr Washita. His purposes do not appear to have been 
disclosed, so that they can be placed beyond conjecture. What- 
ever his plans may have been, it is certain, that Mr. Jefferson 
knew, as early as January, 1806, that Mr. Burr was in the western 
country, and had plans of some sort interesting to the United 
States. 

Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, at this time attorney of the United 



244 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

States for the district of Kentucky, published a pamphlet to show 
what he did to detect Burr. His pamphlet gives copies of the 
letters which he wrote to Mr. Jefferson, in the months of January 
and February of that year. In these letters, Dav$ss discloses a 
very intimate connection between the celebrated General Wilkin- 
son (Mr. Jefferson's military chief at New Orleans) and Mr. Burr. 
He also mentions, that two men of distinction in the western 
country were under an annual stipend to promote the views of 
Spain. It seems to have been intended by Spain, to detach all 
the country west of the mountains from the United States, a very 
natural consequence of the purchase of Louisiana. 

The first letter of Daveiss is dated the 10th of January, 1806. 
The first acknowledgment of it by Mr. Jefferson is dated the 15th 
of February following. Although Mr. Daveiss appears to have 
devoted himself most faithfully to the investigation of the designs 
going on in the western country, and wrote eight very circum- 
stantial letters to Mr. Jefferson, the next communication from 
Mr. Jefferson was a short letter under date of September 12, 
1806, merely acknowledging the receipt of Mr. Daveiss's dis- 
closures. What motives Mr. Jefferson had for taking no part in 
defeating Mr. Burr's purposes at an earlier period, can only be 
conjectured. He might have intended to let Burr, like Miranda, 
do all the injury to Spain, which he could do, and, in his own 
time, to disavow these acts, and to have the gratification of punish- 
ing a man, who had dared to be a competitor with him for the 
presidency. 

It appears, that towards the close of 1806, Colonel Burr did 
engage in some expedition to proceed down the Ohio and the 
the Mississippi ; that he had procured some boats, and that a small 
number of men were to accompany him. On the night of the 
10th of December, 1806, there were assembled at Blannerhasset's 
Island, in Ohio river, a few men, who had two or three boats, on 
board of which some arms are said to have been laden. These 
boats departed that night, and arrived at the mouth of Cumber- 
land river. Burr was not of this party, but descended the Cum- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 245 

berland with some boats, and there joined the Blannerhasset party ; 
and the whole force proceeded down the Ohio, and into the Mis- 
sissippi. The number of boats, after Blannerhasset united with 
Burr, was said to be not more than eight, and the number of men 
not exceeding sixty. Before this time Burr had been twice accused 
by grand juries in Kentucky; but there was no sufficient ground 
to proceed against him. On hearing of the second accusation, he 
voluntarily presented himself at court and was discharged. 

An extensive combination had undoubtedly been contemplated ; 
and in part effected for some purpose. General James Wilkinson, 
then at New Orleans, was in some way connected with this affair, 
but in what manner and to what extent seems to be questionable. 
There was a communication in cipher between him and Burr. 
The only letter so written seems to have had relation to an inva- 
sion of Spanish territory. It is hardly doubtful whether the ad- 
ministration were ignorant of this. If they were not, it is difficult 
to account for continued confidence in Wilkinson to the close of 
his life. Some persons had gone by sea to New Orleans in ex- 
pectation of Burr's arrival, and among others, Mr. Swartwout, 

of New York, and the famous Dr. Bollman. Whatever the plot 
may have been, it was entirely defeated. At the time which best 
suited the purposes of the administration, the western country 
was awakened; orders w r ere issued to the naval and military 
force of the United States, to take Burr and his party while de- 
scending the river, and "if it shall become necessary for that pur- 
pose, to destroy his boats." Apprised of these measures, Burr 
thought proper to be landed somewhere on the shores of the Mis- 
sissippi, and thence found his way to the Tombigbee river, in the 
Mississippi territory, on the 19th of February, 1807, accompanied 
by one person. 

It appears that Burr was in advance of his companion thirty or 
forty yards, in passing a settlement called Washington Court 
House, at about eleven o'clock at night. Burr passed on without 
halting or speaking; but his companion inquired of one standing 
at the door of a public house for the dwelling of a Major Hinson, 

21* 



246 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and, on being answered, followed Burr. The person inquired of, 
suspecting the first traveller to be Burr, followed with a sheriff to 
Hinson's, and there having his suspicions confirmed, went to Fort 
Stoddard, and obtained a military officer and four soldiers, who took 
Burr into their custody. He was thence conducted as a prisoner 
to Richmond, where he arrived towards the close of the month 
of March. 



LETTER XLVII. 

September 21, 1833. 

On the 30th of March, 1807, George Hay, Esq., Attorney of 
the United States for Virginia, applied to Chief Justice Marshall 
to commit Colonel Burr on the charge of treason. A preliminary 
examination was had of the evidence, and the judge was of opin- 
ion that it did not authorize a commitment for that crime, but 
only for a misdemeanor; and Burr was, therefore, allowed to find 
bail for his appearance at the next Circuit Court at Richmond ; 
bail was given. 

On the 22d of May, the Circuit Court was opened. The coun- 
sel for the prosecution were George Hay, Alexander McRae and 
William Wirt. For Burr, John Baker, Benjamin Botts, John 
Wickham, Edmund Randolph and Luther Martin appeared. At 
a subsequent day, Charles Lee also appeared. To these may be 
added Burr himself, who had been a lawyer of great eminence. 
Many days were passed in selecting a grand jury. Among others 
William B. Giles had been summoned, who had been informed 
by Mr. Jefferson of the certainty of Burr's guilt. This gentle- 
man, no doubt at Mr. Jefferson's suggestion, had moved the 
Senate to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, which motion, if 
successful in both branches, would have given Mr. Jefferson 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 247 

unlimited control over the personal liberty of every citizen in the 
United States. The motion was rejected even by that Congress. 
Mr. Giles seems to have h'ad little doubt of his fitness to serve as 
grand-juror. But after examination and discussion he withdrew. 
John Randolph (the same who was sent recently as minister to 
Russia) was foreman of the grand jury. 

There appears to have been much discussion in court on the 
evidence which should go to the grand jury. Among other per- 
sons called as witnesses for the government, was Dr. Erick Boll- 
man, for whom Mr. Jefferson had prepared a certificate of pardon, 
which Mr. Hay presented to Bollman in court, and which Boll- 
man peremptorily refused to accept. He was, however, sworn 
and sent to the jury. 

While the jury were deliberating, the court were engaged in a 
long argument on a motion to punish General Wilkinson for con- 
tempt of court, in having unlawfully caused one Knox to be ar- 
rested, imprisoned, and forcibly conducted on board a United 
States vessel, called the Revenge, at New Orleans, and thence 
brought to Richmond as a witness against Burr. The proceed- 
ings of Wilkinson appear to have been arbitrary and oppressive, 
and enforced by his military authority ; but the Chief Justice de- 
cided, that he was not chargeable with contempt. Wilkinson 
came from New Orleans in the same vessel. The precise charge 
against him was, that he had used illegal means ; and had invaded 
the privilege of witnesses, tending to the corruption of evidence ; 
and materially to affect the justice and dignity of the court, so as 
to subject him to process of contempt. But, as before stated, the 
charge was not sustained. 

On the 24th of June, the grand jury came in with charges of 
treason and misdemeanor against Burr; and with like charges 
against Herman Blannerhasset. Afterwards similar charges were 
found against General Jonathan Dayton and one Smith. Great 
difficulties occurred in selecting a jury for trial ; party feelings 
had taken so strong a hold, that almost every person called seemed 



248 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

to have made up his mind from rumors and newspaper statements. 
The selection of a jury occasioned a long delay. 

On the 17th of August, Burr was put on trial, charged with 
having excited insurrection, rebellion and war, on the 10th of 
December, 1806, at Blannerhasset's Island, in Virginia. Se- 
condly, the same charge was repeated, with the addition of a 
traitorous intention of taking possession of the city of New Or- 
leans with force and arms. To all which he pleaded not guilty. 

Many witnesses were examined, to show in what manner Colo- 
nel Burr had employed himself in the western country, in 1805 
and 1806 ; and to show that he had contracted for boats and pro- 
visions ; and had conferred with divers persons, to some of whom 
he had disclosed one purpose, and to some another, according to 
the expectation of operating on them through different motives. 
The probability is, that Burr was then a desperate man. He was 
an exile from the state of New York, in consequence of the pend- 
ency there of the indictment for the murder of Colonel Hamil- 
ton; he had lost the popular favor; his means had been much 
reduced ; he held the administration in contempt ; he had insa- 
tiable ambition ; and appears to have thirsted for opportunity to 
distinguish himself, and to retrieve his standing at all hazards. 
Yet, as circumstances now appear, one cannot but think, that a 
man of Burr's sagacity must have had some assurances and en- 
couragement from the government, or from its military chief, Wil- 
kinson, that he might move against the Spanish territories, what- 
ever other designs he may have had. If Burr had no such 
reliance on government, it is improbable so intelligent a person 
should have imagined, that he could proceed successfully with 
his few boats and men, even if permitted to do as he pleased. 
If his object was to seize New Orleans, he must have been de- 
ranged to think his armament sufficient for his purpose, if he had 
not been assured of Wilkinson's co-operation. If Wilkinson can 
be supposed to have favored Burr's design, he may have changed 
his mind at a convenient time ; or he may have accepted Burr's 
confidence, with the intention of defeating his projects, when this 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 249 

could be most effectually done. It is very possible that Mr. Burr, 
who is yet living, may leave some account of these transactions. 
Among the witnesses called by the government against the 
accused was a very extraordinary man, well known and much 
esteemed for his exploits on the northern coast of Africa. His 
testimony is interesting, because it discloses his views of Colonel 
Burr ; and because it gives some account of himself. It should 
be remarked, that the counsel of the accused insisted that the 
government's counsel ought to be required to prove, in the first 
instance, some overt act of levying war against the United States, 
according to the charge in the indictment, viz., at Blannerhasset's 
Island, in the Ohio river, in the month of December, 1806. This, 
like other suggestions, was fully argued, and it was decided to be 
proper first to offer such proof. The gentleman above alluded to, 
General William Eaton, was then called as a witness, and it was 
asked whether he was called to prove the overt act. It was an- 
swered that he was not, but to prove the previous intention of Burr. 
He was objected to, and another argument ensued; but the court 
decided, that evidence might be given of the intentions entertained 
by Burr, as these might show the character of the acts done at the 
island. General Eaton was thereupon sworn and examined. 
Commodore Truxton was also sworn and examined. The testi- 
mony of these two witnesses furnishes the best materials for judg- 
ing of the real designs of Burr ; but these have no longer such inte- 
rest as to make it worth while to transcribe this evidence. 



LETTER XL VIII. 

September 25, 1833. 

Several other witnesses were examined to prove the acts done 
at Blannerhasset's Island by Colonel Burr's order, or suggestion. 
The sum of this evidence was, that he had directed the building 



250 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

of boats and the purchase of provisions ; and that three or four 
boats and some men with arms were at the Island about the 10th 
of December ; that under fear of being taken by the militia, this 
party left the Island in their boats in the night, and went down 
the Ohio. It appeared that Burr had been at the Island, though 
not there at any time while this party were there, but was at a 
distance of hundreds of miles, and in another state, (Kentucky.) 
The counsel for the accused then moved the court, that the further 
examination should be arrested, inasmuch as it was proved, that 
Burr w r as not present when the overt act, (if such it was,) alleged 
in the indictment, took place. 

This motion produced one of the most learned and able argu- 
ments to be found in the whole course of judicial proceedings. 
As much of it as is reported spreads over more than 450 pages. 
The Chief Justice pronounced his opinion on the 31st of August. 
At the commencement he says : "A degree of eloquence, seldom 
displayed on any occasion, has embellished a solidity of argument 
and a depth of research, by which the court has been greatly 
aided in forming the opinion which it is about to deliver." This 
carefully prepared and elaborate opinion resulted in this: that as 
the counsel for the government were not understood to deny, that 
if the overt act be not proved by two witnesses, so as to be 
submitted to the jury, all other testimony must be irrelevant; 
because no other testimony, (as to subsequent acts,) could prove 
the overt act. That an assembly on Blannerhasset's Island was 
proved by the requisite number of witnesses, and the court might 
submit to the jury, whether that assemblage amounted to a 
"levying of war;" but the presence of the accused at that as- 
semblage being nowhere alleged, except in the indictment, the 
overt act was not proved by a single witness ; and, of consequence, 
all other testimony must be irrelevant. 

After this opinion had been delivered, Mr. Hay asked time to 
consider what his duty further required. When the court met. at 
a late hour in the afternoon, Mr. Hay said, he had examined the 
opinion (which had been handed to him in writing), and that he 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 251 

must leave the case with the jury. The verdict was, "We of the 
jury say, that Aaron Burr is not proved to be guilty under this 
indictment, by any evidence submitted to us. We, therefore, find 
him not guilty." Burr was tried at the same court on the indict- 
ment for misdemeanor, and acquitted. At the conclusion, Colonel 
Burr was ordered to be committed to answer in the state of Ohio 
to the charge of setting on foot, and providing the means for a 
military expedition in that state against the territories of a foreign 
prince, with whom the United States were at peace. He gave 
bail for his appearance, and was set at liberty. Whether any 
prosecution in this respect occurred, it has not seemed worth while 
to inquire. None is remembered. In 1808, Colonel Burr was 
in England. He returned in 1812. He came home to dwell in a 
humble seclusion, and was known only as a practitioner at the bar. 

Mr. Jefferson did not lose sight of Burr. In a letter to Dr. 
James Brown, October 27, 1808, (vol. iv. p. 115,) he says: "Burr 
is in London, and is giving out to his friends, that government 
(English) offers him two millions of dollars, the moment he can 
raise an ensign of rebellion, as big as a pocket handkerchief. 
Some of his partisans believe this, because they wish it." 

The trial being over, and the law having had its fair operation 
on the case, it might be supposed that a Chief Magistrate of the 
Union would be contented with having done his duty ; and that de- 
corum towards a co-ordinate branch of the government would have 
prevented him from dipping his pen anew. Most extraordinary is 
it, that one of his own family should have given to the world the 
following picture of the true character of the man. (See vol. iv. 
p. 102.) 

To George Hay. 

"Monticello, September 4, 1807. 
"Dear Sir, 

, "Yours of the 1st came to hand yesterday. The event has 
been," {here a number of stars are introduced, shovring that 
something was written, which even Mr. Jefferson^s editor did not 



252 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

venture to disclose,) "that is to say, not only to clear Burr, but to 
prevent the evidence from ever going before the world. It is now, 
therefore, more than ever indispensable, that not a single witness 
be paid, or permitted to depart, until his testimony has been com- 
mitted to writing, either as delivered in court, or as taken by 
yourself in the presence of any of Burr's counsel, who may choose 
to cross-examine. These whole proceedings will be laid before 
Congress, that they may decide, whether the defect has been in 
the evidence of guilt, or in the law, or in the application of the 
law; and that they may provide the proper remedy for the past 
and for the future. 

"I must pray you, also, to have an authentic copy of the record 
made out, (without saying for what,) and to send it to me. If the 
judge's opinions make not a part of it, then I must ask a copy of 
them, either under his hand, if he delivers one signed, or duly 
proved by affidavit. 

" This criminal is preserved to become the rallying point of all 
the disaffected and worthless in the United States ; and to be the 
pivot, on which all the intrigues and conspiracies, which foreign 
governments may wish to disturb us with, are to turn. If he is 
convicted of the misdemeanor, the judge must, in decency, give 
us respite by some short confinement of him ; but we must expect 
it to be very short. Be assured yourself, and communicate the 
same assurances to your colleagues, that your and their zeal and 
abilities have been displayed in this affair, to my entire satis- 
faction, and to your own honor." 

Such is the letter which Thomas Jefferson wrote concerning the 
official conduct of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United 
States! Is it or not the outpouring of a peculiarly organized 
mind, at having lost its expected victim ? Is it or not a search 
after means to dishonor a judicial officer, perhaps to impeach and 
remove him, because he did not convict, on solemn public trial, 
with the guard of a jury, one whom Mr. Jefferson had condemned 
in his closet, unheard, on the testimony of his own parasites ? Is 
such a man a fit person to conceive of the solemnity and purity 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 253 

of the administration of justice, where human life is involved, and 
where the law declares every man to be presumed innocent until 
found guilty ? If Mr. Jefferson could have placed Tallmadges 
and Halls on the bench, at his pleasure, and could have packed 
his juries, what would have been the fate of the "disaffected and 
the worthless," in this land of liberty ! Whatever may be thought 
of Burr, and however desperately wicked any one may please to 
think him, it is the principle of action, disclosed in this letter, which 
terrifies and astonishes, considering what station he held, who 
wrote it. Here is one more proof that those who talk and boast 
most loudly of republican liberty, are the men least qualified to be 
trusted with power. 

This trial requires some remarks. In the course of the argu- 
ment, some suggestions were made, (and very possibly in conse- 
quence of the letters written to Mr. Hay by Mr. Jefferson, during 
the trial,) that the court might be under some bias favorable to 
Colonel Burr. These called for some notice on the part of the 
Chief Justice. He did notice them with calmness, self-respect 
and dignity, which deserves to be remembered forever, not only 
to his due honor, but as an example of judicial independence and 
propriety, on which, no doubt, the liberties of this country depend, 
Mr. Jefferson's doctrines notwithstanding. 

" Much," says the Chief Justice, " has been said in the course 
of the argument, on which the court feels no inclination to com- 
ment particularly, but which may, perhaps, not improperly re- 
ceive some notice. That this court dares not usurp authority 
is most true. That this court dares not shrink from its duty is 
not less true. No man is desirous of becoming the peculiar sub- 
ject of calumny. No man, might he let the bitter cup pass from 
him without self-reproach, would drain it to the bottom. But if 
he have no choice in the case ; if there be no alternative prescribed 
to him, but a dereliction of duty, or the opprobrium of those de- 
nominated the world, he merits the contempt as well as the in- 
dignation of his country, who can hesitate which to embrace. 

" That gentlemen, in a case the most interesting, in the zeal 
22 



254 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

with which they advocate particular opinions, and under the con- 
viction, in some measure produced by that zeal, should, on each 
side, press their arguments too far ; should be impatient at any 
deliberation in the court ; and should suspect, or fear the operation 
of motives to which alone they can ascribe that deliberation, is, 
perhaps, a frailty incident to human nature; but if any conduct 
on the part of the court could warrant a sentiment that it would 
deviate to the one side or to the other, from the line prescribed 
by duty and law, that conduct would be viewed by the judges 
themselves with an eye of extreme severity, and would long be 
recollected with deep and serious regret." 

These are the sentiments of one who understood the sacred 
trust of administering justice according to law, in a government 
of laws; sentiments, of which Mr. Jefferson was incapable of con- 
ceiving. He is rather to be commiserated than reproached for 
his incapacity. 

This trial deserves remark on other grounds. The time may 
come when a popular President and a subservient Senate may 
place in judicial seats mere instruments of executive will. This 
is one way in which despotism may approach, and not an impro- 
bable one ; quite as probable as in military form. We have al- 
ready seen something of this in Mr. Jefferson's reign (embargo 
times) ; nothing was wanting then but the proper instruments. 

At the time of this trial, Mr. Jefferson had acquired to himself, 
almost entirely by his pen, an astonishing supremacy over public 
opinion. All who did not bow to him were the "disaffected and 
the worthless." He cordially hated Burr. Every measure had been 
taken to pre.-occupy the minds of the citizens against him. It 
was hardly to be expected that he should have a fair trial any- 
where ; and especially, perhaps, in the state in which he was 
tried; for there he had been prejudged by many of the most in- 
fluential men, on Mr. Jefferson's own assurances of his guilt. It 
is of no importance who, or what the accused may have been; he 
was entitled to a trial according to law. 

Taking the peculiar circumstances of the trial into view, it is 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 255 

one of remarkable interest, and is well worth consideration for the 
instruction which it imparts. The accused had been the equal 
competitor with his real prosecutor for the highest office in a great 
republic. He was, for four years, second only to him,and had 
but recently descended from his elevation. His trial was for his 
life, nor for his life only, but that it might end on the gibbet, for 
a crime so infamous as to include, in its complete perpetration, 
almost every other in the catalogue of crimes. Here was a grand 
jury who believed him so far guilty, as to think it their duty to 
subject him to that trial. Here was a collection of jurors, as fair 
and impartial, perhaps, as the state of public excitement would 
permit ; and here were learned and eminent counsel on both sides. 
The one intent to convict, not only because they thought this the 
line of professional and patriotic duty, but because they could not 
shut out from view, that conviction would be grateful to the man 
of the people. The other side, intent on applying the law and 
the evidence as it should be applied ; and, perhaps, influenced by 
the fact, that they had some responsibility in shielding one, whose 
condemnation would have been, not merely an act of justice, but 
a political triumph. Presiding over this contention sat one, who 
could have felt no favor for the accused ; and who must have ab- 
horred the crimes which the indictment alleged. He could not 
have been ignorant of the character of the prosecution. In such 
circumstances, happily for him, he could rise above all motives, 
which the pure administration of justice rejected. It has rarely 
fallen to the lot of any man, to have had occasion to seek so ear- 
nestly for the truth, both as to the law and as to the evidence ; 
and to no man, to have conducted himself with more dignity and 
magnanimity, in the most responsible station in which one can be 
placed. 

There is an emotion of sadness in reflecting on the professional 
labor of this case. The feelings and the exertions of an advocate 
are little appreciated by the world. The judge has to feel the way 
of his duty, and to adhere to it, leaving consequences to them- 
selves. The accused must be presumed to have thought of con- 



256 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

sequences before he took on himself to act; but he confides his 
hopes and his fears, his life and his fame to his counsel; and they 
painfully realize that he does so. Laborious, indeed, must have 
been the exertions, in the intensity of summer, in a southern 
clime, in this serious investigation. The arguments, as reported, 
give some intimation of what these exertions were, in searching 
out, comparing and arranging authorities ; but they do not, and 
cannot disclose to the world the painful anxiety of preparing and 
delivering the result of intense intellectual effort. 

There is one circumstance in this affair of Colonel Burr which 
ought to be noticed, as it shows Mr. Jefferson's views of the proper 
exercise of power. Swartwout and Bollman had been forcibly 
seized by General Wilkinson at New Orleans, and sent under 
guard to the city of Washington, and there committed to prison. 
If these persons had been guilty, or liable to be put on trial at all, 
the trial should have been had in the district in which the crime 
was committed, viz., the Mississippi territory, in which the seat 
of justice was at New Orleans. These persons moved the court 
for a writ of habeas corpus, and both of them were discharged, 
because the proper place of prosecution, if there were evidence 
against them, was New Orleans, and not the city of Washington. 
If Wilkinson did not act by order of Mr. Jefferson, he acted with 
his approbation. Hence it appears what views Mr. Jefferson en- 
tertained as to the exercise of power; and what he would have 
done, if his friend Giles' motion to suspend the writ of habeas 
corpus had prevailed. The only apology which can be offered for 
Mr. Jefferson is, that he seems to have sincerely believed the will 
of a President elected by the people, (and none could be considered 
as part of the people who did not vote for him,) to be the supreme 
law. Thus it is obvious, that the will of such a President is a 
despotism ; and of the worst sort, because he can give it the 
forms of law, when he can surmount the obstacle of judiciary 
interference. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 257 



NOTICE OF MR. WIRT. 

Mr. Wirt, who makes a distinguished figure in this trial, was 
then about thirty-four years of age. At the age of about fifty-seven, 
an opportunity occurred to observe him, when he appeared in Bos- 
ton as counsel in a cause of great interest to the parties. He was 
a tall, handsome man, well formed and rather full person, of pol- 
ished and amiable manners. He observed a highly decorous de- 
portment in his forensic tactics. In private society (while in Boston) 
he was grave, thoughtful, and not disposed to conversation. He 
was said to be a true gentleman in his feelings and intercourse with 
others, and deservedly beloved in his domestic relations. * He was 
a scholar, a profound lawyer, and a man of real eloquence, founded 
on substantial intellectual power. His fame was entirely profes- 
sional, excepting that he wrote a small volume entitled the British 
Spy, describing certain eminent men ; and the Life of Patrick 
Henry. The former was much esteemed for the elegance of its 
style ; of the latter, it is said, that he thought he had not acquitted 
himself as well as he supposed he had, when he sent it to the 
press. Since the foregoing page was written, the sorrowful intel- 
ligence is received, that this gentleman has deceased in the midst 
of his professional labors ; one more proof of the severe cost and 
peril of eminence at the bar. The following extract will give 
some, though but a faint impression of the eloquence to which 
Mr. Wirt could ascend. It is taken from one of the many speeches 
which he made in the course of Burr's trial. It is extracted for 
the further purpose of showing this gentleman's view of Burr's 
machinations. 

"Who Aaron Burr is, we have seen, in part, already. I will 
add, that beginning his operations in New York, he associates 
with him men whose wealth is to supply the necessary funds. 
Possessed of the mainspring, his personal labor contrives all the 
machinery. Pervading the continent from New York to New 

22* 



258 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Orleans, he draws into his plan, by every allurement, men of 
all ranks and descriptions. To youthful ardor he presents danger 
and glory ; to ambition, — rank, titles and honors ; to avarice, — 
the mines of Mexico. To each person whom he addresses he 
presents the object adapted to his taste. Civil life is, indeed, 
quiet upon its surface, but in its bosom this man has contrived 
to deposit the materials, which, with the slightest touch of his 
match, produce an explosion to shake the continent. In the 
autumn of 1806, he goes forth, for the last time, to apply this 
match. He meets with Blannerhasset. 

" And who is Blannerhasset ? A man of letters, who fled from 
the storms of his own country, to find quiet in ours. He sought 
quiet and solitude in the bosom of our western forests. But he 
carried with him taste, science and wealth ; and lo ! the desert 
smiled. Possessing himself of a beautiful island, in the Ohio, 
he rears upon it a palace, and decorates it with every embellish- 
ment of fancy. A shrubbery, that Shenstone might have envied, 
blooms around him. Music, that might have charmed Calypso 
and her nymphs, is his. An extensive library spreads its treasures 
before him. A philosophical apparatus offers to him all the 
secrets and mysteries of nature. Peace, tranquillity and inno- 
cence shed their mingled delights around him. And to crown 
the enchantment of the scene, a wife who is said to be lovely 
beyond her sex, and graced with every accomplishment that can 
render it irresistible, had blessed him with her love, and made 
him the father of several children. 

" The destroyer comes! he comes to change this paradise into 
hell. Yet the flowers do not wither at his approach. No moni- 
tory shuddering through the bosom of their unfortunate possessor 
warns him of the ruin that is coming. A stranger presents him- 
self. Introduced to their civilities by the high rank which he had 
lately held in his country, he soon finds his way to their hearts, 
by the dignity and elegance of his demeanor, the light and beauty 
of his conversation, and the seductive and fascinating powers of 
his address. Innocence is ever simple and credulous. Conscious 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 259 

of no design itself, it suspects none in others. Such was the 
state of Eden, when the serpent entered its bowers. 

"By degrees he infuses into the heart of Blannerhasset the poison 
of his own ambition. He breathes into it the fire of his own 
courage; a daring and desperate thirst for glory; an ardor, pant- 
ing for great enterprises; for the storm, bustle, and hurricane of 
life. In a short time the whole man is changed; every object of 
former delight is relinquished. No more he enjoys the tranquil 
scene. His books are abandoned. His shrubbery blooms, and 
breathes its fragrance upon the air, in vain. His ear no longer 
drinks the rich melody of music ; it longs for the trumpet's clangor 
and the cannon's roar. Even the prattle of his babes, once so 
sweet, no longer affects him. The angel smile of his wife, which 
hitherto touched his bosom with ecstasy unspeakable, is now un- 
seen and unfelt. His imagination has been dazzled by visions 
of diadems, of stars, and garters, and titles of nobility, &c. &c. 

"In a few months, we find the beautiful and tender partner of 
his bosom, whom he lately permitted not 'the winds of summer 
to visit too roughly;' we find her shivering on the winter banks 
of the Ohio, and mingling her tears with the torrents that froze as 
they fell. Yet this unfortunate man, thus deluded from his inte- 
rest and his happiness, thus seduced from the paths of innocence 
and peace, thus confounded in the toils that were deliberately 
spread for him, and overwhelmed by the mastering spirit and 
genius of another; — this man, thus ruined and undone, and made 
to play a subordinate part in this grand drama of guilt and trea- 
son, — this man is to be called the principal offender ; while he, 
by whom he was thus plunged in misery, is comparatively inno- 
cent, a mere accessory ! Is this reason ? Is it law ? Is it 
humanity? Sir, neither the human heart, nor the human under- 
standing will bear a perversion so monstrous and absurd ! so 
shocking to the soul ! so revolting to reason ! Let Aaron Burr, 
then, not shrink from the high destination which he has courted ; 
and having already ruined Blannerhasset in fortune, character, and 
happiness for ever, let him not attempt to finish the tragedy, by 



260 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

thrustino- that ill-fated man between himself and punishment." 
(Burr's Trial, vol. ii. pp. 96, 98.) 

Highly honorable testimonials of Mr. Wirt's professional emi- 
nence and individual worth occurred on the event of his decease, 
as well among the members of the bar, as in court and in the 
House of Representatives. The latter an unusual occurrence, as 
he had never been a member of Congress, though he had been 
Attorney General twelve years, (from 1817 to 1829 — Monroe's 
and J. Q. Adams' administrations.) 



LETTER XLIX. 

October 10, 1633. 

In 1795, Alexander Hamilton, at the age of thirty-eight, re- 
sumed the practice of the law in the city of New York, and there 
continued until the close of his life. In December of that year, 
his personal appearance was this: He was under middle size, 
thin in person, but remarkably erect and dignified in his deport- 
ment. His bust, seen in so many houses, and the pictures and 
prints of him make known, too generally, the figure of his face, 
to make an attempt at description expedient. His hair was turned 
back from his forehead, powdered, and collected in a club behind. 
His complexion was exceedingly fair, and varying from this only 
by the almost feminine rosiness of his cheeks. His might be 
considered, as to figure and color, an uncommonly handsome 
face. When at rest, it had rather a severe and thoughtful expres- 
sion; but when engaged in conversation, it easily assumed an 
attractive smile. He was expected, one day in December, 1795, 
at dinner, and was the last who came. When he entered the 
room, it was apparent from the respectful attention of the com- 
pany, that he was a distinguished individual. He was dressed 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 261 

in a blue coat with bright buttons ; the skirts of his coat were 
unusually long. He wore a white waistcoat, black silk small 
clothes, white silk stockings. The gentleman, who received him 
as a guest, introduced him to such of the company as were 
strangers to him ; to each he made a formal bow, bending very 
low, the ceremony of shaking hands not being observed. The 
fame of Hamilton had reached every one, who knew anything of 
public men. His appearance and deportment accorded with the 
dignified distinction to which he had attained in public opinion. 
At dinner, whenever he engaged in the conversation, everyone 
listened attentively. His mode of speaking was deliberate and 
serious ; and his voice engagingly pleasant. In the evening of 
the same day, he was in a mixed assembly of both sexes; and 
the tranquil reserve, noticed at the dinner table, had given place 
to a social and playful manner, as though in this he was alone 
ambitious to excel. 

The eloquence of Hamilton was said to be persuasive and com- 
manding ; the more likely to be so, as he had no guide but the 
impulse of a great and rich mind, he having had little opportunity 
to be trained at the bar, or in popular assemblies. Those who 
could speak of his manner from the best opportunities to observe 
him in public and private, concurred in pronouncing him to be a 
frank, amiable, high-minded, open-hearted gentleman. He was 
capable of inspiring the most affectionate attachment; but he 
could make those, whom he opposed, fear and hate him cordially. 
He was capable of intense and effectual application, as is abund- 
antly proved by his public labors. But he had a rapidity and 
clearness of perception, in which he may not have been equalled. 
One, who knew his habits of study, said of him, that when he 
had a serious object to accomplish, his practice was to reflect on 
it previously ; and when he had gone through this labor, he retired 
to sleep, without regard to the hour of the night, and having slept 
six or seven hours, he rose, and having taken strong coffee, seated 
himself at his table, where he would remain six, seven, or eight 
hours ; and the product of his rapid pen required little correction 



262 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

for the press. He was among the few alike excellent, whether 
in speaking, or in writing. In private and friendly intercourse, 
he is said to have been exceedingly amiable, and to have been 
affectionately beloved. 

Aaron Burr was at this time, (December, 1795,) probably about 
Hamilton's age. He had attained to celebrity as a lawyer at the 
same bar. He was of about the same stature as Hamilton, and 
a thin man, but differently formed. His motions in walking w T ere 
not, like Hamilton's, erect, but a little stooping, and far from 
graceful. His face was short and broad ; his black eyes uncom- 
monly piercing. His manner gentle and seductive. But he had 
also a calmness and sedateness, when these suited his purpose, 
and an eminent authority of manner, when the occasion called 
for this. He was said to have presided with great dignity in the 
Senate, and, especially, at the trial of Judge Chase. Though 
eminent as a lawyer, he was said not to be a man of distinguished 
eloquence, nor of luxuriant mind. His speeches were short and 
to the purpose. 

Hamilton considered him, both as a man and as a politician, 
much as he proved to be in after life ; and was not careful to con- 
ceal his opinions. In short, he held Burr to be an ambitious and 
dangerous man, and was indiscreet enough to have expressed his 
opinions in such a manner, as to enable Burr to take offence, and 
to call him to account. 

It seems, that a certain Dr. Charles D. Cooper had written a 
letter to some one, in which he said, "General Hamilton and" 
(another person who need not be named) "have declared in sub- 
stance, that they looked upon Mr. Burr as a dangerous man, and 
one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government.' 1 
"I could detail to you a still more despicable opinion, which 
General Hamilton has expressed of Mr. Burr." On the 18th of 
June, 1804, this latter had, some time after its publication, come 
to Burr's knowledge, and on that day he sent a copy of it to 
Hamilton, by Mr. Van Ness, in which he demanded " a prompt 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 263 

and unqualified acknowledgment, or denial, of the use of any 
expression, which would warrant the assertions of Dr. Cooper." 

On the 20th, General Hamilton made a reply of some length, 
commenting on the demand made on him, and on the expressions 
imputed to him, and concluded by saying, "I stand ready to 
avow or disavow, promptly and explicitly, any precise or definite 
opinion, which I may be charged with having declared of any 
gentleman." "It cannot be expected that I shall enter into an 
explanation, upon a basis so vague as that which you have 
adopted. I trust, on more reflection, you will see the matter in 
the same light with me. If not, I can only regret the circum- 
stance and abide the consequences." 

On the 21st, Burr answered, and among other things said, 
"Political opposition can never absolve gentlemen from the 
necessity of rigid adherence to the laws of honor and the rules 
of decorum. I neither claim such privilege, nor indulge it in 
others. The common sense of mankind affixes to the epithet 
adopted by Dr. Cooper, the idea of dishonor. It has been pub- 
licly applied to me, under the sanction of your name. Your 
letter has furnished me with new reasons for requiring a definite 
reply." 

On the 22d, General Hamilton consulted with a friend, (Mr. 
Pendleton,) and showed to him an intended answer of that date, 
in which he said, after some introductory remarks, "If by a de- 
finite reply, you mean the direct avowal or disavowal, required in 
your letter, I have no other answer to give than that which has 
already been given. If you mean anything different, admitting 
of greater latitude, it is requisite you should explain." 

Conversations and correspondence ensued between Mr. Pendle- 
ton and Mr. Van Ness, in which it was made known to the latter, 
that General Hamilton could truly say, that he recollected only 
one conversation in which Dr. Cooper was present ; and that it 
turned wholly on political topics, and did not attribute to Burr 
any instance of dishonorable conduct ; nor relate to his private 
character ; and that in relation to any other language, or con- 



264 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

versation, which Burr would specify, a prompt or frank avowal or 
denial would be given. 

This intercourse resulted in the express declaration of Mr. 
Burr's friend, Van Ness, " That no denial, or declaration will be 
satisfactory, unless it be general, so as wholly to exclude the 
idea, that rumors derogatory to Colonel Burr's honor have ori- 
ginated with General Hamilton ; or have been fairly inferred from 
anything he has said. A definite reply to a requisition of this 
nature was demanded by Colonel Burr's letter of the 21st instant. 
This being refused invites the alternative alluded to in General 
Hamilton's letter of the 20th." 

Mr. Pendleton made a very becoming answer, showing the ex- 
tended requisition which this last letter contained, and perceiving 
the intention of both Burr and Van Ness to have the matter settled 
in one way and no other, appointed a time to receive the commu- 
nication. 

On the receipt of "the message," General Hamilton made a 
calm, deliberate commentary on the transaction, as far as it had 
gone, and put it into the hands of Mr. Pendleton, who offered it to 
Mr. Van Ness, but he declined receiving it ; alleging, that he con- 
sidered the correspondence closed. In this commentary General 
Hamilton remarks, that if the alternative alluded to is definitely 
tendered, it must be accepted ; but that, as the Circuit Court of 
the United States was then sitting, he could not suddenly with- 
draw from his duties there ; and that the time of meeting must be 
subsequently arranged. General Hamilton seems to have had a 
foreboding of his fate. On Friday, July 6th, the Circuit Court 
closed, and Mr. Pendleton informed Mr. Van Ness, that General 
Hamilton would be ready at any time after the following Sunday. 

If Colonel Burr was resolved from the beginning to meet Ham- 
ilton, and to force him into conflict, as the record of this affair 
would indicate, he had, afterwards, abundant reason to regret that 
it was Hamilton, and not himself, who fell. 

On Wednesday, July 11th, (1804,) the parties crossed the 
North River to Hoboken, on the Jersey shore. Hamilton arrived 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 265 

at seven in the morning. Burr, as had been agreed, was already 
on the ground, accompanied by Van Ness and a surgeon. Ham- 
ilton was attended by Pendleton as his second, and Dr. Hosack. 
Hamilton was shot at the first fire, the ball entering his right 
side and passing through to the vertebrae. When the ball struck 
him, he raised himself involuntarily on his toes and turned a little 
to the left, at which moment his pistol w T ent off, and he fell on his 
face. Dr. Hosack immediately came up, and found him sitting on 
the ground supported in the arms of Pendleton ; he had strength 
enough to say, " This is a mortal wound, Doctor," and then sank 
away, and became, to all appearance, lifeless. He was taken on 
board the barge, and continued insensible until he was about fifty 
yards from the shore, when he revived in consequence of the ap- 
plications made to that end, and said, " my vision is indistinct." 
His vision became clearer, and seeing the pistol which he had held 
in his hand, he said, " Take care of that pistol ; it is undischarged 
and still cocked ; it may go off and do harm ; Pendleton knows I 
did not mean to fire at him." It would thus seem, that Hamilton 
w T as ignorant that he had discharged his pistol. As he approached 
the shore, he said, "Let Mrs. Hamilton be immediately sent for; 
let the event be gradually broken to her, but give her hopes." 

General Hamilton lived in agony until two o'clock in the after- 
noon of the following day. In the affecting narration of Dr. Ho- 
sack, of the closing scenes of Hamilton's life, he says, "The 
great source of his anxiety seemed to be in his sympathy with his 
half-distracted wife and children. He spoke to me frequently of 
them; 'my beloved wife and children,' were always his expres- 
sions. His fortitude triumphed over his situation, dreadful as it 
was. Once, indeed, at the sight of his children, brought to the 
bedside together, seven in number, his fortitude forsook him ; he 
opened his eyes, gave them one look, and closed them again 
until they were taken away. He alone could calm the frantic 
grief of their mother. ' Remember, my Eliza, you are a Chris- 
tian,' were the words, which, with a firm voice, but in a pathetic 
23 



266 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and impressive manner, he addressed to her." Dr. Hosack con- 
cludes his narrative with the truly appropriate words — 

" Incorrupta fides — nudaque Veritas ; 
Quando ullara inveniet parem? 
Multis ille quidem flebilis occidit." 

As the state of public opinion then was, and as it may still be 
with some persons, was Hamilton justifiable in hazarding his life 
against such a foe as Aaron Burr? No one will deny, that, in 
whatsoever remarks he may have made on the conduct and cha- 
racter of Burr, he was influenced by good and patriotic motives. 
If he thought it was dangerous to trust Burr with power in the 
republic, was he, or not, right in striving to prevent his elevation ?* 
If he thought he discerned the real character of this man, was he 
forbidden to disclose it to prevent public evil? What rule is a 
man to prescribe to himself in an elective republic, as to disclos- 
ing what he may honestly believe to be promotive of the public 
welfare and preventive of public mischief? In such a case, it is 
believed, that one has a right to speak the truth of men, from 
good motives and for justifiable ends, especially when the party 
spoken of is a candidate for public suffrage. But prudence re- 
quires, that one should be careful to whom and before w T hom he 
speaks. Having spoken from good motives and for justifiable 
ends, no rule prescribed by any respectable authority demands of 
one to risk his life. If this be not so, a reckless Catiline may 
silence a thousand Ciceros. In this case Hamilton was in a try- 
ing condition. He had spoken of Burr what he believed to be 
true; he could not disavow what he had said, nor could he apolo- 
gize, because he thought he had spoken only what was true, and 
that it was right so to speak. He was a soldier, and could not 
bear the imputation of wanting spirit; least of all could he bear 
the supercilious vaunting of Aaron Burr, that he had been called 
by him to account, and shrunk from the call. But Hamilton mis- 
took the probable judgment of the world. If he had refused the 

* Burr (if rightly remembered) was candidate for Governor. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 267 

meeting with Burr, public opinion would have absolved him. He 
thought this could not be so. He went to the field of death from 
a mistaken but elevated sense of self-respect. Doubtful of the 
public judgment, yet feeling how pernicious his example might 
be, he conceived himself bound to bespeak the candor of the 
world, if it should be his fate to fall. The last paper he ever 
wrote was the following: 

"On my expected interview with Colonel Burr, I think it proper 
to make some remarks explanatory of my conduct, motives and 
views. 

" I was certainly desirous of avoiding this interview, for the most 
cogent reasons. 1. My religious and moral principles are strongly 
opposed to the practice of duelling; and it would ever give me 
pain, to be obliged to shed the blood of a fellow creature in a 
private combat, forbidden by the law. 2. My wife and children 
are extremely dear to me, and my life is of the utmost import- 
ance to them in various views. 3. I feel a sense of obligation 
towards my creditors, who, in case of accident to me, may, by 
the forced sale of my property, be in some degree sufferers. I 
did not think myself at liberty, as a man of probity, lightly to 
expose them to this hazard. 4. I am conscious of no ill will to 
Colonel Burr, distinct from political opposition, which, as I trust, 
has proceeded from pure and upright motives. Lastly, I shall 
hazard much and can possibly gain nothing by the issue of the 
interview. 

" But it was, as I conceive, impossible for me to avoid it. There 
were intrinsic difficulties in the thing, and artificial embarrassments 
from the manner of proceeding on the part of Colonel Burr. 
Intrinsic, because it is not to be denied that my animadversions 
on the political principles, character and views of Colonel Burr 
have been extremely severe; and on different occasions, I, in 
common with many others, have made very unfavorable criticisms 
on particular instances of private conduct of this gentleman. 

"In proportion as these impressions were entertained with sin- 
cerity, and uttered with motives and for purposes, which might 



268 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

to me appear commendable, would be the difficulty, (until they 
could be removed by evidence of their being erroneous,) of expla- 
nation or apology. The disavowal, required of me by Colonel Burr 
in a general and indefinite form, was out of my power, if it had been 
really proper for me to submit to be so questioned ; but I was sincere- 
ly of opinion, that this could not be ; and in this opinion I was con- 
firmed by a very moderate and judicious friend, whom I consulted. 
Besides that, Colonel Burr appeared to me to assume, in the first 
instance, a tone unnecessarily peremptory and menacing; and in 
the second, positively offensive. Yet I wished, as far as might 
be practicable, to leave a door open for accommodation. This, I 
think, will be inferred from the written communications made by 
me and by my direction ; and would be confirmed by the conversa- 
tion between Mr. Van Ness and myself, which arose out of the 
subject. I am not sure whether, under all the circumstances, I 
did not go further in the attempt to accommodate, than a puncti- 
lious delicacy will justify. If so, I hope the motives I have stated 
will excuse me. 

"It is not my design in what I have said, to affix any odium on 
the conduct of Colonel Burr in this case. He doubtless has 
heard of animadversions of mine, which bore very hard upon 
him; and it is probably that, as usual, they were accompanied 
by some falsehoods. He may have supposed himself under a 
necessity of acting as he has done. I hope the grounds of his 
proceeding have been such as ought to satisfy his own conscience. 

"I trust at the same time, that the world will do me the justice 
to believe, that I have not censured him on light grounds; nor 
from unworthy inducements. I certainly have had strong reasons 
for what I may have said, though it is possible, that, in some par- 
ticulars, I may have been influenced by misconstruction or mis- 
information. It is also my ardent wish, that I may have been 
more mistaken than I think I have been ; and that he, by his future 
conduct, may show himself worthy of all confidence and esteem, 
and prove an ornament and blessing to the country. 

" As well, because it is possible that I may have injured Colonel 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 269 

Burr, however convinced myself, that my opinions and declarations 
have been well founded, as from my general principles and temper 
in relation to such affairs, I have resolved, if our interview is 
conducted in the usual manner, and it pleases God to give me 
the opportunity to reserve and throw away my first fire ; and I 
have thoughts even of reserving my second fire ; and thus giving 
a double opportunity to Colonel Burr to pause and to reflect. It is 
not, however, my intention to enter into any explanation on the 
ground. Apology, from principle, I hope, rather than pride, is 
out of the question. 

"To those who, with me, abhorring the practice of duelling, 
may think that I ought on no account to have added to the num- 
ber of bad examples, I answer, that my relative situation, as well in 
public as private, enforcing all the considerations which constitute 
what men of the world denominate honor, imposed on me, (as 
I thought,) a peculiar necessity not to decline the call. The 
ability to be in future useful, whether in resisting mischief, or 
effecting good, in those crises of our public affairs which seem 
likely to happen, would, probably, be inseparable from a conform- 
ity to public prejudice in this particular. 

"A. H." 

However deeply to be regretted it is, that the name and memory 
of Hamilton must for ever be associated with the odious offence 
of duelling, it is some relief, that there is his own condemnation 
of the practice. If there be any atonement, even for him, it is 
found in the judgment which he formed, however erroneously, 
that his future usefulness to his country depended on his obedience 
to the barbarous "law of honor." 

On Saturday, the 14th of July, the remains of General Hamil- 
ton were consigned to the tomb, with every mark of respect and 
honor, and with demonstrations, universal and heartfelt, of touch- 
ing grief. From a stage erected in the portico of Trinity Church, 
Gouverneur Morris, having with him four sons of Hamilton, (the 
oldest sixteen, and the youngest six,) pronounced an extempo- 

23* . 



270 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

raneous oration over the remains of Hamilton, to an afflicted 
multitude. What occasion, in the history of the human family, 
could be more touching ! It was Hamilton who had fallen, in the 
midst of manhood and usefulness, and by the hand of Burr ! 
The oration was worthy of the difficult and delicate occasion. It 
was uttered by one who felt the full sense of gratitude due from 
the country, and who fully comprehended the irreparable loss 
which the country had sustained. It was the overflowing of a 
mind that knew how to estimate the highest human worth, and 
the bereavement which affectionate friendship had to mourn. 

The national misfortune was everywhere felt to be such, by all 
who were not steeped in party venom. Many funeral orations 
were pronounced ; among others, one in Boston by Harrison Gray 
Otis, which was worthy of his own reputation and of the lamented 
object of his eulogy. Rufus King was among the audience on 
this occasion. It was delivered to a crowded assembly in King's 
Chapel, on the 26th of July. Among the concluding paragraphs is 
this faithful picture of the public feeling: "The univesal sorrow, 
manifested in ^very part of the Union upon the melancholy exit of 
this great man, is an unequivocal testimonial of his public worth. 
The place of his residence is overspread with a gloom which be- 
speaks the pressure of a public calamity ; and the prejudices of 
party are absorbed in the overflowing tide of national grief." 

Whatsoever Thomas Jefferson may have recorded of Alexander 
Hamilton, time and good sense are doing justice to both. The 
fame of Hamilton, associated with the fame of Washington, grows 
brighter and dearer to intelligent and patriotic Americans, while 
that of Jefferson, (with his own helping hand,) if remembered at 
all, will be only to show the difference between patriotism and its 
counterfeit. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 271 



LETTER L. 

Octobeh 15, 1833. 

Mr. Jefferson professes, in his communications to Congress, 
to be conscientiously careful of a "just economy ;" he assumes to 
be impartial in all dealings with foreign nations; and scrupulously 
attentive to national honor. His pretensions in all these respects, 
may be tested by a single transaction. 

The boundaries of Louisiana not having been defined, and 
Spain being exasperated at the purchase, a state of hostility had 
arisen with Spain, which Mr. Jefferson hoped to allay by negotia- 
tion. Mr. Monroe, the ever-ready diplomatist of Mr. Jefferson, 
was sent to Madrid, and there passed five months in an humiliat- 
ing attempt at compromise. He was, at length, bold enough to 
say, that there were but two modes, arbitration or war. Spain 
answered, that she should not choose arbitration. 

Mr. Jefferson was compelled to make a communication to Con- 
gress, which was confidential and secret, and wherein he makes 
known that the very difficulties (so far as France and Spain 
were concerned) which the federalists had predicted, had actually 
occurred. This message is dated the 6th December, 1806, and 
from it the following extracts are made. " A convention was 
accordingly entered into between our minister of Madrid and the 
minister of Spain for foreign affairs, by which it was agreed, that 
spoliations by Spanish subjects, in Spain, should be paid for by 
that nation ; those committed by French subjects, and carried into 
Spanish ports, should remain for further discussion. Before this 
convention was returned to Spain with our ratification, the transfer 
of Louisiana by France took place, an event as unexpected as 
disagreeable to Spain. From that moment, she seemed to change 
her conduct and disposition towards us. It was first manifested 
by her protest against the right of France to alienate Louisiana 
to us; which was, however, soon retracted, and the right con- 



272 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

firmed. (How?) Then, high offence was manifested at the act 
of Congress, establishing a collection district on the Mobile. She 
now refused to ratify the convention," &c. 

The message goes on to say, that James Monroe was sent 
over, to settle boundaries. "Spain reserved herself for events." 
Monroe, after five months' labor, effected nothing ; no indemnity 
for spoliations; no acknowledgment of limits beyond the Iberville ; 
and that "our line to the west was one which would have left us 
but a string of land on the Mississippi." Each party was thus 
left to pursue its own measures. Those, which they had chosen 
to pursue, " authorize the inference, that it is their intention to 
advance on our possessions, until met by an opposing force." 
" France took the ground, that they acquired no right beyond the 
Iberville, and meant to deliver us none beyond it." "The pro- 
tection of our citizens, the spirit and honor of our country re- 
quire, that force should be interposed to a certain degree." "The 
course to be pursued will require the command of means, which 
it belongs to Congress exclusively to yield, or deny." 

Thus we have Mr. Jefferson's own admission, that every evil 
which his political adversaries had foretold, had occurred, so far 
as they could occur, within the time between his purchase and 
the writing of his message. There was certainly "a speck of 
war;" how this was prevented from enlarging, will be seen by 
the application of means, which Congress could yield, or deny. 
What did Mr. Jefferson really mean by this message ? Just what 
circumstances might make it best to have it mean. 

It was no new thing for Mr. Jefferson to express himself so 
ambiguously as to meet any contingency that might arise. If 
Congress were willing to go to war, the message was adapted to 
that end ; if Congress were willing to vote money, the message was 
adapted to that end. The latter was Mr. Jefferson's purpose. Asto- 
nishing as the fact may be, Congress did place two millions of dol- 
lars at the disposal of Mr. Jefferson, which sum was to be applied to 
settling the troubles with Spain. The money was not so applied ; 
but it was actually sent to France, in the United States ship Hor- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 273 

net, for no other reason than that France wanted money, and must 
have it; and that there was no other way to avoid a war both with 
France and Spain ! 

The proof of these facts comes from no less a personage than 
John Randolph, who was then a Jeffersonian ; but he was so dis- 
gusted with this double dealing, and so shocked at the degrada- 
tion of the country, that he published a pamphlet signed Decius, 
in which he tells the truth as to this transaction. If it be asked, 
how this is known to have been John Randolph's work, the an- 
swer is, that it was ascribed to him at the time, and not denied ; 
that the internal evidence is irresistible, as it states facts which 
no one but John Randolph, the President, Mr. Madison, (then 
Secretary of State,) and Mr. Gallatin, (then Secretary of the 
Treasury,) could have known ; and lastly, the narration in this 
pamphlet accords with facts publicly known. From this pamphlet 
the following extracts are made. 

Mr. Randolph was chairman of the committee, to whom this 
message was referred. He says in his pamphlet : — " The chair- 
man of the committee, to whom the confidential message was 
referred, immediately waited on the President, and informed him 
of the direction which had been given to it. He then learned, 
not without surprise, that an appropriation of two millions was 
wanted to purchase Florida. He told the President that he would 
never agree to such a measure, because the money had not been 
asked for in the message ; that he would not consent to shift to 
his own shoulders, or those of the House, the proper responsibility 
of the Executive ; if the money had been explicitly demanded, 
he should have been averse to granting it, because, after a total 
failure of every attempt at negotiation, such a step would disgrace 
us for ever; because France would never withhold her ill offices, 
when, by their interposition, she could extort money from us; 
that it was equally to the interest of the United States, to ac- 
commodate the matter by an exchange of territory ; (to this mode 
of settlement the President seemed much opposed ;) that the 
nations of Europe, like the Barbary powers, would hereafter 



274 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

refuse to look on the credentials of our ministers, without a pre- 
vious douceur, and much more to the same purpose." 

" The committee met on the 7th of December. One of its 
members, (Bid well, of Massachusetts,) construed the message into 
a requisition of money for foreign intercourse, and proposed a 
grant to that effect; this was overruled. He himself, when the 
subject was agitated in the House, would not avow the same con- 
struction of the message, w T hich he had given in committee. On 
the 14th of December, the chairman was obliged to go to Balti- 
more, and did not return till the 21st. During this interval, the 
dispatches from Mr. Monroe, of the 18th and 25th of October, 
were received by government. Previous to the chairman's de- 
parture, having occasion to call on the Secretary of State, (Madi- 
son,) he was told by that officer, that France would not permit 
Spain to adjust her differences with us ; that France wanted money, 
and that we must give it to her, or have a Spanish and French 
war!" 

Mr. Randolph returned from Baltimore on the 21st and con- 
vened the committee. As they were assembling, he goes on to 
say, "the Secretary of the Treasury, (Mr. Gallatin,) called him 
aside, and put into his hands a paper headed 'Provision for the 
purchase of Florida.' The chairman declared he would not vote a 
shilling ; he expressed himself disgusted with the whole of this pro- 
cedure, which he could not but consider as highly disingenuous ; 
that the most scrupulous care had been taken to cover the reputa- 
tion of the administration, while Congress were expected to act 
as though they had no character to lose ; that whilst the official 
language of the Executive was consistent and dignified, (quoting 
the words of the message,) Congress was privately required to 
take upon itself the odium of shrinking from the national honor, 
and national defence, and of delivering the public purse to the 
first cut-throat that demanded it. From the official communications 
— from the face of the record it would appear, that the Executive 
had discharged his duty, in recommending manly and vigorous 
measures, which he had been obliged to abandon — and had been 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 275 

compelled by Congress, to pursue an opposite course, when, in 
fact, Congress had been acting, all the while, at Executive instiga- 
tion. The chairman further observed, that he did not understand 
this double set of opinions and principles; the one ostensible, to 
go upon the journals and before the public; the other, the efficient 
and real motives to action ; that he held true wisdom and cun- 
ning to be utterly incompatible in the conduct of great affairs : 
that he had strong objections to the measure itself, but in the 
shape in which it was presented, his repugnance to it was in- 
superable. 4 In a subsequent conversation with the President 
himself, in which those objections were recapitulated, he declared 
that he too had a character to support and principles to maintain, 
and avowed his determined opposition to the whole scheme." 

Mr. Randolph proceeds to state, that a proposition, the avowed 
object of which was, to enable the President to open a negotiation 
for Florida, now came upon the table. Mr. Randolph moved 
that the sum to be appropriated should be confined to that object, 
which was agreed upon. But afterwards, when the bill was formally- 
brought in, this specific appropriation was rescinded by the House, 
and the money left at the entire discretion of the Executive, to 
apply to any extraordinary purpose of foreign intercourse what- 
ever. To use his own words: 

"Mr. J. Randolph also moved, to limit the amount which the 
government might stipulate to pay for the territory in question ; 
upon the ground that, if Congress were disposed to acquire Florida 
by purchase, they should fix the extent to which they were will- 
ing to go, and thereby furnish our ministers with a safeguard 
against the rapacity of France ; that there was no probability of 
our obtaining the country for less, but every reason to believe 
that, without such a precaution on our part, she would extort more. 
This motion was overruled. When the bill came under discus- 
sion, various objections were urged against it by the same gentle- 
man : Among others, that it was in direct opposition to the views 
of the Executive, as expressed in the President's official commu- 
nication, [it was on this occasion that General Varnum declared 



276 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the measure to be consonant to the secret wishes of the Execu- 
tive ;] that it was a prostration of the national honor at the feet of 
our adversary ; that a concession so humiliating would paralyze 
our efforts against Great Britain, in case the negotiation, then and 
now pending between that government and ours, should prove 
abortive ; that a partial appropriation towards the purchase of 
Florida, without limiting the President to some specific amount, 
would give a previous sanction to any expense which he might 
incur for that object, and which Congress would stand pledged to 
make good; that if the Executive, acting entirely up^n its own 
responsibility, and exercising its acknowledged constitutional 
powers, should negotiate for the purchase of Florida, the House 
of Representatives would, in that case, be left free to ratify or annul 
the contract ; but, that the course which was proposed to be pur- 
sued, (and which eventually was pursued,) would reduce the discre- 
tion of the Legislature to a mere shadow; that at the ensuing session 
Congress would find itself, in relation to this subject, a delibera- 
tive body but in name; that it could not, without a manifest dere- 
liction of its own principles, and, perhaps, without a violation of 
public faith, refuse to sanction any treaty entered into by the Exe- 
cutive, under the auspices of the Legislature, and with powers 
so unlimited ; that however great his confidence in the Chief Ma- 
gistrate, he would never consent to give any President so danger- 
ous a proof of it ; and that he would never preclude himself by 
any previous sanction, from the unbiased exercise of his judg- 
ment on measures which were thereafter to come before him; that 
the House had no official recommendation for the step which they 
proposed to take ; on the contrary, it was in direct opposition to 
the sentiments, as expressed in the confidential message ; and 
that the responsibility would be exclusively their own ; that if he 
thought proper to ask for an appropriation for the object, (the 
purchase of Florida,) the responsibility of the measure would rest 
upon him ; but when the Legislature undertook to prescribe the 
course w r hich he should pursue, and which he had pledged him- 
self to pursue, the case was entirely changed ; that the House 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 277 

could have no channel through which it could be made acquainted 
with the opinions of the Executive, but such as was official, 
responsible, and known to the constitution; and that it was a pros- 
titution of its high and solemn functions, to act upon an uncon- 
stitutional suggestion of the private wishes of the Executive, 
irresponsibly announced, by an irresponsible individual, and in 
direct hostility to his avowed opinions." 

After such a course of remarks, from a leading Jeffersonian, a 
Virginian, a man who called himself a genuine republican, what 
would one suppose to have been the fate, among the representa- 
tives of a free and enlightened people, of Mr. Jefferson's double- 
dealing proposition ? A declaration of war against Spain ? Not 
at all. This would have been an admission, that the man of the 
people could have made a blunder in disposing of fifteen millions 
of dollars of the people's money. What then ? The Jeffersonian 
Randolph tells us, — " The doors were closed, and the minority, 
whose motives were impeached, and whose motives were almost de- 
nounced, were voted down without debate" 

The two millions of dollars were voted ; they were placed at 
Mr. Jefferson's disposal without limit, or restriction. They went 
in the United States ship Hornet, in specie, to the coffers of 
Napoleon. Not a foot of territory was thereby acquired ; if any 
thing, Napoleon was paid two millions for his kind interposition 
in preventing the people of the United States from knowing how 
far Mr. Jefferson had, or had not been "honest, capable, and 
faithful to the constitution." 

What were Mr. Jefferson's motives in this transaction ? Was 
he moved by friendship for France ? By the desire to strengthen 
France against England ? By unwillingness to vindicate the 
honor and independence of the country against France ? By the 
dread of showing, that the predictions of political adversaries had 
been verified ? Was Mr. Jefferson willing to give away two mil- 
lions of the people's money for all, or any of these reasons ? 
However these questions may be answered is not, at this day, 
material, so that Mr. Jefferson's pretensions to the gratitude and 
24 



278 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

respect of his countrymen be placed on the proper footing. Future 
generations are to judge of Thomas Jefferson's fame, when the 
history of these times shall have been written, and to decide for 
themselves what Mr. Jefferson was, as an economist, as a statesman, 
as a friend to his country, and how he should rank as an honorable 
and an honest man. It makes no difference in forming such decision, 
that the unforeseen changes in European affairs made the purchase 
of Louisiana a fortunate measure for this country. The motives 
which then operated, and the acts then done, are the true and 
only materials from which that decision is to be formed. If Bona- 
parte had been successful; if Spain had not been distracted by 
civil commotions, what would Mr. Jefferson have acquired for his 
country, in exchange for his fifteen and his two millions of dol- 
lars ? He certainly obtained nothing for the two millions sent to 
France. This latter was a mere donation, or rather tribute, and 
so it was considered at the time, even by John Randolph. 

If Mr. Jefferson was that abhorrer of duplicity, which he as- 
sumes to be, he would have told Congress, that the purchase of 
Louisiana w r as involved in difficulties; that it would lead the 
country into a war with both France and Spain ; that he found 
himself in a very serious dilemma; that Spain, by fraud and 
force, w r as completely under the control of Napoleon ; that if 
Congress would please to vote him a couple of millions to give to 
Napoleon it would pacify him, and that he would keep Spain from 
showing her disgust and enmity ; and finally, that he should still 
seem to his countrymen to be the wise, the great, and the good 
Mr. Jefferson ! He knew his Congress and the pow r er of party 
too well to find it necessary to disclose such truths. It is highly 
probable that Mr. Jefferson thought this management honest and 
proper, because it promoted the great objects of his policy — it 
helped France — it hurt England — it kept federalism down by 
keeping himself up. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 279 



LETTER LI. 

October 25, 1333. 

Let it not be forgotten that Mr. Jefferson began his presidency 
with the most gracious and conciliatory assurances, that we were all 
republicans, all federalists, and that universal peace and harmony 
were to prevail under his paternal auspices; nor forgotten — that 
before the first year had elapsed, he denounced, in his smooth and 
ambiguous phraseology, the whole tenor of federal administration, 
and disclosed the intention of annulling and reversing, to the ex- 
tent of his power, all that had been done. He conducts the 
government for eight years, retires — devotes his remnant of days 
to the same course of denunciation of federalists and federalism 
— and leaves, as his bequest to his countrymen, his testimony of 
the w T orthlessness and wickedness of his political adversaries ; and 
his assurances of his own honesty, ability, usefulness and pa- 
triotism. Has he not thus invited a comparison between himself, 
and those of his countrymen, whom he would transmit to posterity, 
as destitute of every good quality which he arrogates to himself? 

There is no part of Mr. Jefferson's administration in which his 
honesty and ability can be better tested, than in the course of 
measures which led to the "long embargo," and by his persever- 
ance in that extraordinary policy. 

It may not be an easy matter to develop Mr. Jefferson's motives 
in this part of his political machinery. It is ever to be under- 
stood, that all Mr. Jefferson said and did had a double import ; 
and that it is as difficult as painful, to seek out his real designs. 
In this matter of the embargo, it is unavoidable, in showing the 
truth, to recur to some previous circumstances. 

The state of this country, as affected by the conduct of the 
belligerents, was, no doubt, exceedingly embarrassing. Mr. Jef- 
ferson assumes, that he conducted honestly and wisely throughout. 



280 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

This is thought to be much otherwise, and this is the question to 
be tried. 

The United States complained of England : First. That Eng- 
land interposed unjustly in the neutral commerce which the 
United States was authorized to carry on. This is a dry subject, 
and it would be uninteresting to go into details. Secondly. That the 
practice, adopted by England, of declaring ports, and even a whole 
coast, blockaded, when, in fact, no force was present to enforce the 
blockade, was unjust and oppressive to neutrals. Thirdly. The im- 
pressment of seamen from American vessels. This cause of com- 
plaint was much insisted on by Mr. Jefferson, who, nevertheless, 
cared very little about seamen or commerce, except for the revenue. 

It should be remembered, that the conflict between France and 
England, was not one in which the parties had leisure to advert 
to the law of nations ; nor to apply the principles which nations 
had respected in most of their wars. It was a conflict of de- 
struction and extermination, in which England stood alone against 
the host of continental Europe. 

Napoleon resolved that there should be no neutrals in that war- 
fare. What would a patriotic and wise administration in this re- 
mote and neutral country have done under these circumstances ? 
In 1806 Napoleon had pushed his conquests to the borders of 
Russia; he had converted Alexander from an enemy into an ally. 
Mr. Fox, the firm and undeviating friend of America, so far as 
he could be so consistently with duty to his own country, was at 
the head of the British ministry. England could never be in cir- 
cumstances more favorable to an adjustment of all points in con- 
troversy. William Pinckney and James Monroe were plenipo- 
tentiaries in England. The treaty, made by Jay in 1794, had 
expired in 1804 by its own limitation. The United States had 
been prosperous under that treaty. Mr. Jefferson refused to ex- 
tend or renew it. 

Messrs. Pinckney and Monroe effected a treaty in 1806, on the 
first two points of difference, which they considered highly advan- 
tageous to this country. On the third, Mr. Jefferson required, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 281 

that the American flag should protect all who sailed under it, well 
knowing that England never could concede this, without aban- 
doning her maritime force ; and, while this point was a sine qua 
non, that no adjustment with England could be effected. Yet 
Pinckney and Monroe obtained assurances from the British minis- 
try, though not in the form of a treaty, which they deemed satis- 
factory. The treaty was sent over, dated December 31, 1806. 
The Senate were in session when it was received, and because 
the British had not therein conceded, that all English, Irish and 
Scotchmen, and all deserters from the British navy should be pro- 
tected by the American flag, Mr. Jefferson did not condescend to 
lay this instrument before the Senate, but took on himself to re- 
ject it and send it back.* Now, was this honest, or wise in Mr. 
Jefferson ? Does it, or not show, that he was resolved, the parade 
of negotiation notwithstanding, to keep open the means of con- 
tention with Great Britain ? And was not his motive, to contribute 
to the universal dominion of Napoleon in Europe, including pros- 
trate England ? And was it wise for a republic to extinguish, if 
it could, the only power that then stood between the hope of lib- 
erty and one universal despotism ? 

On the 21st of November, 1806, Napoleon, seated in the palace 
of the vanquished King of Prussia, at Berlin, issued his decree, 
by which he declared the British Isles in a state of blockade ; 
and, consequently, that every American vessel going to, or coming 
from these Isles, was subject to capture. This decree appears to 
have slept for some months. The same decree provided, that all 
merchandize belonging to England, or coming from its manufac- 
tories or colonies, although belonging to neutrals, should be law- 
ful prize on land. This provision was carried into effect. This 
was the phenomenon of a monarch, terrible, to be sure, on the land, 
but without commerce, and with an inferior and humbled marine 

• Jefferson to Monroe, March 10, 1808, vol. iv., p. 107. "You complain of the 
manner in which the treaty was received. Two of the Senators inquired of me, 
whether it was my intention to detain them on account of the treaty. I answered 
it was not ; and that I should not give them the trouble of deliberating on it." 

24* 



282 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

force, announcing destruction to the trade of an insular people, 
whose territories he could not approach. 

Mr. Armstrong, minister of the United States in France, in- 
quired of Champagny, French minister of foreign relations, (Sep- 
tember 24, 1807,) what construction was to be given to this 
decree of 21st November ; and whether it would " infract" the 
treaty between the United States and France ? Champagny an- 
swered (October 7, 1807) that " his majesty has considered every 
neutral vessel, going from English ports with cargoes of English 
merchandize, or of English origin, as lawfully seizable by French 
armed vessels." "The decree of blockade has now been issued 
eleven months. The principal powers of Europe, far from pro- 
testing against its provisions, have adopted them." (All these 
powers had either become vassals or obedient allies of his majesty.) 
" They have perceived, that its execution must be complete to 
render it more effectual; and it has seemed easy to reconcile the 
measure with the observance of treaties, especially at a time when 
the infractions, by England, of the rights of all maritime powers, 
render their interests common, and tend to unite them in support 
of the same cause." 

The Berlin decree, then more than a year old ; the inquiry of 
Mr. Armstrong, and the answer to it ; and the proclamation of the 
British government, (cut from a newspaper,) recalling British sea- 
men, and prohibiting them from serving foreign princes and 
states, dated October 16th, 1807, were all the documents sent to 
Congress, proposing an unlimited embargo. These showed "the 
great and unceasing dangers with which our vessels, our seamen, 
and merchandize were threatened on the high seas, and elsewhere, 
by the belligerent powers of Europe." 

It is true, that one of the Senators from Massachusetts (whose 
conduct was afterwards publicly censured by resolves of the legis- 
lature, which induced him to resign), says in a public letter of 
31st March, 1808, that the British orders (retaliating the Berlin 
decree), of 11th November, 1807, were not communicated to Con- 
gress with the President's message on the embargo, but that they 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 283 

were published in the National Intelligencer on the 18th Decem- 
ber, 1807, the day on which the embargo message was sent to 
Congress. It is unaccountable, that these orders were not com- 
municated, if Mr. Jefferson knew of their existence. The news- 
paper was a sufficient authority for the proclamation, and must 
have been equally so for the orders. Can it be doubted, that the 
embargo was resolved on by Mr. Jefferson, before he knew of 
these orders ? The Senator alluded to had, about this time, a 
most extraordinary illumination as to Mr. Jefferson's purity and 
intelligence ; and an equally extraordinary perception of the 
worthlessness and wickedness of eminent men, with whom he 
had long thought and acted. The sudden confidence inspired by 
Mr. Jefferson led this Senator to say, in his place, on the embargo 
message: " The President has recommended the measure on his 
high responsibility ; I would not consider ; I would not delibe- 
rate ; / would act. Doubtless the President possesses such fur- 
ther information as will justify the measure." Thus it would 
seem, that this Senator and a majority of both Houses, at the 
mere dictation of Mr. Jefferson, were ready, without any delibera- 
tion, to impose the greatest evil on this country, which could be 
imposed short of a ruinous and hopeless war. 

No one who calmly considers this transaction can doubt, that it 
was conceived and executed for the purpose, and only purpose of 
enforcing, so far as this country could be useful to that end, the 
" continental system" of Napoleon. 

Now, is Mr. Jefferson entitled to the gratitude and respect of 
his countrymen, for proposing and executing this political mea- 
sure ? 

There are three views in which this subject is to be considered. 
First, as to France. The embargo was approved of by the go- 
vernment there, as a measure against the common enemy. 

Assuming that the embargo was laid for the purpose of aiding 
the continental system, it appears, that it did little towards that 
purpose ; and the whole evil fell upon American citizens. Mr. 
Armstrong writes from Paris, August 30th, 1808. " The em- 



284 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

bargo is a measure calculated above any other to keep us whole, 
and keep us in peace ; but beyond this you must not count upon 
it. Here it is not felt ; and in England, (in the midst of the 
more interesting events of the day,) it is forgotten." 

Secondly, as to England ; it was an interdiction of all commer- 
cial intercourse. But the injurious consequences to that country 
were entirely miscalculated. England supplied herself with cotton 
from other sources. The whole of the bread stuff exported from 
the United States, was not more than one-twentieth of the annual 
consumption of England, and not one-half of this, probably, went 
to England. The West India Colonies turned their attention to 
their own resources. England found other markets for her pro- 
ducts. If the embargo had continued as long as Mr. Jefferson 
intended it should, Europe would have forgotten that there was 
such a country on the globe as the United States. 

Thirdly, the wisdom of this measure is to be tested by its effects 
within our own limits, and on the adjoining provinces of the 
English. 

First, it was an execution, in effect, of the British proclamation 
of the 16th October, 1807, recalling seamen. Destitute of em- 
ployment here, they found their way, through the British provinces, 
to their own country. It is not improbable, that many American 
sailors went in the same way into the British service, in prefer- 
ence to starving at home. 

Secondly, the export and import business was carried on through 
the British provinces, greatly to their advantage, while the coasting 
trade of the United States was conducted in wagons. Flour could 
not be water-borne from the south, without an official permit, by 
some agent thereto authorized by Mr. Jefferson. 

Thirdly, the attempts to evade the embargo led to vindictive 
prosecutions, to the multiplication of spies and informers, and to 
an exercise of a tyranny of officers, great and small, which would 
hardly have been endured in Algiers, or Constantinople. 

Fourthly, the effect was demoralizing. Smuggling had hardly 
been known in these days; it now became common. It was not 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 285 

thought to be morally wrong, to evade a law which all, but Jeffer- 
sonians, knew to be oppressive and ruinous ; and which the best 
informed men declared to be unconstitutional. It brought the 
administration of justice into contempt. Jury trials, on embargo 
bonds, became a mockery. 

A law so palpably against common sense, so oppressive and 
ruinous in its consequences, and which a maritime community 
might justifiably think ought to be evaded if it could be, called 
for further enforcing legislation, which resolved itself, in practice, 
into downright tyranny. After the evils of the embargo had been 
endured more than a year, and the public distress became insuf- 
ferable, the remedy, invented by Mr. Jefferson and his advisers, 
was a new law, commonly called the enforcing act. This was 
passed on the 9th of January, 1809. 

At the session of the Massachusetts legislature in this month, 
petitions came in from various quarters, beseeching legislative 
interference. The community were exasperated to the highest 
degree. The manner in which these petitions were acted upon, 
by a federal legislature, may be some answer to Mr. Jefferson's 
calumnies on this party ; and some refutation to his often-repeated 
tale of a northern confederacy to sever the Union. 

At this time (January, 1809) the alarming state of public affairs 
had called into the legislature of Massachusetts the ablest men 
n the state. Among them was the same Christopher Gore, whom 
Mr. Jefferson so pointedly mentions, as a monarchist and Anglo- 
man ; and the same Harrison Gray Otis, whom he mentions in 
the same connection ; and a majority of similar citizens in both 
branches. 

The following words are extracted from a report, made on the 
petitions which the embargo laws caused to be presented: 

The petitioners' complaints are, 1st. "The unnecessary, impo- 
litic and unconstitutional interdiction of commerce, by the several 
acts of Congress, falsely called embargo laws. 2d. The appre- 
hension that the nation is speedily to be plunged into a war with 
Great Britain; and consequently entangled in a fatal alliance with 



286 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

France. 3. Some peculiarly oppressive and unjust provisions of 
the last embargo act, passed on the 9th of January, 1809." 

This report deserves the diligent study of citizens of a free 
republic, because it shows how easily a popular President and an 
obedient Congress can establish an absolute despotism in the 
forms of law. If Congress had enacted, that Thomas Jefferson 
may lawfully do anything that he may choose to do, to annihilate 
commerce, and to strip every citizen of his last shilling, who does 
not submit to his will, it would not have been a more real des- 
potism. 

A Jeffersonian of some distinction, who was a member of the 
House at that time, but who has probably grown wiser since, 
exercised his patriotism by proposing a series of resolutions, one 
of which was in these words: "That in case it shall appear to 
Congress, that all fair attempts to remove said orders and decrees 
by negotiation shall have been exhausted, and they shall find it 
necessary to assume any other attitude of resistance, it will be the 
duty of the whole people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
to rally round the standard of their own nation and its govern- 
ment, and to afford them their utmost support by all constitutional 
means in their power." 

The meaning of the mover, both as to the nation in respect to 
whom an " attitude of resistance" was to be assumed ; and to 
that portion of the whole people, who were called on for their 
utmost support, was in no respect equivocal. His resolutions 
were committed to five, of whom the mover was one, and Mr. 
Gore the chairman. The report drawn by Mr. Gore is one of the 
masterly efforts of that day, and the mover of the resolutions 
gave an opportunity to the whole people to read an exposition of 
the true character and conduct of our national managers; and 
also to know what sort of citizens Mr. Jefferson's "Anglomen 
and monarchists" were. 

Thus it appears, that more than three years before the war 
actually came, it was intended by one party, dreaded by the other; 
and that nothing was waited for but the favorable moment, which 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 287 

did not occur, as will hereafter be shown, until Napoleon was 
duly prepared for it. 

The picture drawn by this report of the state of the country 
will be recognized as true and faithful by all who can remember 
these days. The following is an extract from it : 

"In this condition of unexampled prosperity at home, peace 
and consideration abroad, our present rulers were called to the 
administration of public affairs ; and what has been the fruit of 
their labors ? Let the following facts answer : 

" Our agriculture is discouraged. 

" The fisheries abandoned. 

"Navigation forbidden. 

" Our commerce at home restrained, if not annihilated. 

" Our commerce abroad cut off. 

" Our navy sold, dismantled, or degraded to the service of 
cutters or gun-boats. 

" The revenue extinguished. 

" The course of justice interrupted. 

"The military power exalted above the civil; and by setting 
up a standard of political faith unknown to the constitution, the 
nation is weakened by internal animosities and division, at the 
moment when it is unnecessarily and improvidently exposed to 
war with Great Britain, France, and Spain." 

Such a report as this was a very sufficient reason with Mr. 
Jefferson, for regarding Mr. Gore as a " monarchist and Anglo- 
man." 



LETTER LII. 

November 6, 1833. 
Caleb Strong was Governor of Massachusetts from May, 1800, 
to May, 1807. Under the influence of Mr. Jefferson, party con- 



288 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

tentions had become excessively bitter. There was not only the 
common struggle for power, from which even absolute despotisms 
are not exempt, and which is inseparable from all elective govern- 
ments, but the politics and contentions in Europe were artfully 
intermingled with all the elections which occurred in the United 
States. The daily journals not only discussed qualifications for 
office, but descended to personalities and calumnies, which might 
induce one to suppose, that the Americans had been astute in 
selecting the worst men of their nation for public trust. It is in 
such paper warfare as in that of physical force; "he is to be 
considered the author of the war, who causes the first blow to be 
struck." 

At the election in 1807, the candidates for Governor were Caleb 
Strong and James Sullivan; the latter was chosen in a severely 
contested election. He was elected the next year, and continued 
in office till his decease, which happened on the 10th Dec. 1808. 
The following notice of him is taken from the American Encyclo- 
pedia. The biographical sketches of that work are attributed to 
Mr. Robert Walsh. 

" James Sullivan,* brother of the foregoing," (John Sullivan, 
an officer of the revolutionary war, and afterwards Governor of 
New Hampshire,) "was born at Berwick, Maine, April 22, 1744. 
He was educated entirely by his father. The fracture of a limb 
in early life caused him to turn his attention to legal pursuits, 
instead of embracing the military career, for which he had been 
destined. After studying with his brother, General Sullivan, he 
was admitted to the bar, and soon rose to celebrity. He was 
appointed King's attorney for the district in which he resided; 
but the prospects of advancement, which he might reasonably 
have entertained, did not prevent him from taking an early and 
decided part on the side of his country, at the commencement of 
the revolutionary struggle. Being a member of the provincial 
Congress in 1775, he was intrusted, together with two other 
gentlemen, with a difficult commission to Ticonderoga, w T hich 

* Father of the author. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 289 

was executed in a very satisfactory manner. In the following 
year he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. In 1779 
-80, he was a member of the Convention, which framed the con- 
stitution of the State. In February, 1782, he resigned his judge- 
ship, and returned to the bar. In 1783 he was chosen member 
of Congress, and in the following year was one of the commis- 
sioners in settling the controversy between Massachusetts and 
New York, respecting their claims to the western lands. He was 
repeatedly elected representative of Boston, in the legislature. In 
1787 he was member of the Executive Council and Judge of 
Probate for Suffolk; and in 1790 was appointed Attorney General, 
in which office he continued till June, 1807, when he was elevated 
to the chief magistracy of the Commonwealth. He was subse- 
quently appointed by President Washington agent under the fifth 
article of the British treaty, for settling the boundaries between 
the United States and the British provinces.* He was a second 
time chosen Governor of the state ; but soon after his health became 
enfeebled, and on the 10th of December, 1808, he died, in the 
65th year of his age. Governor Sullivan w r as the projector of the 
Middlesex canal. Amidst his professional and political pursuits, 
he found time to prepare several works, mostly on legal and 
political subjects. One is a history of the District of Maine, 
which is a creditable monument of his industry and research." 

On the decease of Governor Sullivan, executive power devolved 
on Lieutenant-Governor Levi Lincoln, (the same gentleman who 
was Attorney General of the United States in 1801,) who exer- 
cised this power until the next election. In his speech to the 
legislature at the January session, 1809, he noticed the event 
which had made it his duty to address that assembly. At this 
time the executive council was composed entirely of federalists, 
among whom was George Cabot. There were federal majorities 

* There is an error here, as to the time of this appointment. It was in 1796, 
during Washington's second presidency, and continued two years. 

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290 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

in both branches of the legislature. The House, in its answer to 
the speech, say of the deceased chief magistrate : 

"The affecting dispensation of Divine Providence, which has 
deprived this commonwealth of its commander-in-chief, cannot 
be more sincerely deplored by your honor, than it is sensibly felt 
by the House of Representatives. Elevated to the chair of state, 
in opposition to the political sentiments of a majority of the 
legislature, we are happy to declare, that the late Governor 
Sullivan, in the discharge of his high and important trust, ap- 
peared rather desirous to be the Governor of Massachusetts, 
than the leader of a party, or the vindictive champion of its 
cause." 

It is not to be disputed, that Governor Sullivan was much dis- 
satisfied with the course of policy adopted by the leaders of the 
party to which he belonged. He was so, especially, with the 
embargo, and with the measures pursued to enforce that system. 
It was the pleasure of Mr. Jefferson, that no citizen should import 
a barrel of flour from southern states, without having permission 
from an agent appointed by himself. Governor Sullivan was in- 
trusted with granting such permissions for the whole state, under 
the belief that he would make party allegiance his rule in dis- 
pensing his favors. He gave permits to every one who asked for 
them, and Mr. Jefferson complains in one of his published letters 
to Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln, that permits were not given to 
those of the true faith only, but to everybody, and were openly 
sold in the southern markets.. He soon declined the honor of 
being Mr. Jefferson's agent in this party monopoly. 

Governor Sullivan had the disadvantage of an inferior educa- 
tion, and of being drawn into an active agency in public affairs 
at an early period of life. He was a man of extraordinary in- 
dustry and energy, and did much to remedy the defects of early 
education by his own exertions. He lived in troublesome times, 
and when no man of any eminence could avoid being of some 
party, nor escape the feelings which such times necessarily excite. 
In private life he was social and hospitable. As a public man he 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 291 

was diligent and ardent. He was a member of many societies, 
and president of several of them. Judging from the tenor of his 
life, one would think that no honors could compensate for the 
toils and anxieties of public station. 

When Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln thus came to the exercise 
of executive power, the long embargo had been in operation more 
than twelve months. This magistrate shows himself, in the speech 
which he made at the opening of the session, heartily disposed to 
compensate the people of Massachusetts for the defect of loyalty 
to Mr. Jefferson, disclosed in the administration of the magistrate 
whose place he filled. There was a new call for his zeal in the 
abominable enforcing act (of the embargo), passed on the 9th of 
the same month of January. 

His honor made a long and elaborate speech to a federal legis- 
lature, and seemed not to have been aware, that he laid himself 
open to be answered in a manner which became a yet free but 
indignant community. 

There are two kinds of despotism: 1. That which one man 
may exercise, who has united in himself all the powers of govern- 
ment ; 2. That which is exercised by a popular chief, in the name 
of liberty and the people. The latter is by far the most terrible, 
because it implies that the physical strength, as well as the mere 
forms of law, is arranged to sustain it. It is the more dangerous, 
too, because those who exercise power under such despotism really 
believe, that they are performing their duties in counteracting the 
enemies of the republic. Although the clear tendency of Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Lincoln's measures, in sustaining Mr. Jefferson, 
deserved no better name than tyranny, since it was in effect to 
establish the power of one man, and to deprive free citizens of 
the right to discuss the measures of public agents, chosen by 
themselves and responsible to them, yet such a design is not to 
be attributed to him. He may be supposed to have considered 
himself to be doing what it was his duty to do, as a republican 
chief magistrate. Yet no one can read his speech to the legisla- 
ture of Massachusetts, (January, 1809,) without perceiving that 



292 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the doctrines therein contained would, if carried but little further, 
have submitted the United States to the mere will of Thomas 
Jefferson and his adherents. His honor very plainly intimates 
his own belief to be in perfect conformity with that conviction 
which Mr. Jefferson's fourth volume discloses, viz., That Massa- 
chusetts was the hotbed of disaffection, disunion, and traitorous 
designs. His honor spoke to men who understood him, and who 
felt indignant at his insinuations. They should rather have felt 
sorrow and compassion for the delusion's of party, while they re- 
pelled (as the following extracts from their answers will show 
they did), his honor's unfounded suggestions. 

The Senate (among other things) said : "We are happy to accord 
with you, Hhat our enemies alone could have represented the New 
England states, as prepared for opposition to the authority of the 
law, and ripening for a secession from the Union.** The people 
of New England perfectly understand the distinction between the 
constitution and the administration. An administration may be- 
come corrupt, but the people will remain pure. Who shall decide 
when the public functionaries abuse their trust? The 'meetings,' 
to which you allude, have been attended by men second to none 
in the United States, for their legal and political knowledge, for 
their love of order, and for their patriotism. Can such assemblies 
of citizens merit censure in a republican government? Can it be 
necessary to remind your honor, that the administration of Wash- 
ington produced precisely the reverse of the picture, which you 
have drawn so much to the life? '■Whence then the causes of dis- 
trust, jealousy, altercations, and bitter aspersions'' upon that great 
and good man, and upon all who were attached to his measures? 
' Whence the ever to be regretted indiscretions, suddenness, and indi- 
vidual rashness, which denounced 1 an administration, that safely 
guided the people to prosperity and glory, amidst great and 
impending dangers? We have seen as little of the spirit as of 
policy, in the embargo system. We know that the Emperor 

* Words in italics, quoted from the lieutenant-governor's speech, and by him 
applied to Jefferson's administration. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 293 

approves, if he did not dictate the measure. We know that 
Great Britain receives immense advantage from the surrender to 
her of the whole trade of the world ; and we cannot imagine why 
the people should be called on to endure 'privations,' unless the 
administration, having failed to operate on the fears, or interests 
of the ' warning powers,' expect, ere long, to obtain relief from 
their compassion." 

The House of Representatives, (among other things,) answered : 
" The legislature and people of Massachusetts now are, and have 
ever been firmly and sincerely attached to the union of the states; 
and there is no sacrifice they have not been, and are not now will- 
ing to submit to, in order to preserve the same according to its 
original purpose. Of this truth your honor must be convinced. 
We do not appeal to the unvarying conduct of our citizens during 
the glorious administrations of Washington and Adams, when the 
patriotic endeavors of our statesmen, under the most perplexing 
embarrassments, pursued and secured the interests and honor of 
the nation. But we can appeal to the patience with which our 
citizens have borne the administration of those, whose boast it 
has been to proscribe all the measures of their predecessors, and 
most of the men whose talents and virtues had assisted in secur- 
ing to the United States the blessings of a free government. It 
ought not to be a matter of surprise that men, who, either on the 
floor of Congress, or elsewhere, have adopted measures hostile to 
the Union, and subversive of its principles, should endeavor to 
brand with the calumny you mention, the efforts of those who sin- 
cerely aim at preserving the constitution, by demonstrating the 
tendency of their acts ; and who studiously exert themselves to 
prevent a dissolution of the federal compact, by stating the dangers 
of such an event. We cannot agree with your honor, that in a 
free country there is any stage at which the constitutionality of 
an act may be no longer open to discussion and debate ; at least, 
it is only on the high road to despotism, that such stages can be 
found. Were it true, that the measures of government, once 
passed into an act, the constitutionality of that act is stamped 

25* 



294 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

with the seal of infallibility, and is no longer a subject for the 
deliberation, or remonstrance of the citizen, to what monstrous 
lengths might not an administration carry its power! It has only 
to pass through rapid readings and midnight sessions, without 
allowing time for reflection or debate, to the final enactment of a 
bill, and even before the people are informed of the intentions of 
their rulers ; and then their chains are riveted, and the right of 
complaint denied them.'''' 

It may be inferred, from these extracts, what the character and 
tendency of the republican lieutenant-governor's speech was ; 
and with what constitutional and honorable spirit it was met by 
the true friends of the national union. The long answer of the 
House of Representatives is full of real republican principles; 
such principles as must govern in this land, or the doctrines of 
the lieutenant-governor must be admitted, namely, that the ad- 
ministration is everything ; and their electors nothing. 

These events occurred about twenty-four years ago. It was 
then the Jeffersonian creed, that the executive and legislative, 
united, were supreme ; do what they might, the people must sub- 
mit. This was received by freemen with indignation, and the 
tyrants retraced their steps. But now, in 1834, we have made 
an astonishing advance ! One man has dared to do, in the cha- 
racter of President of a free republic, what no monarchy in all 
Europe, crowned in right of hereditary succession, would venture 
to propose; and a majority of the House of Representatives look 
on and applaud ! 

While Lieutenant Governor Lincoln was at the head of the 
Commonwealth, he had not only the difficult duty of vindicating 
Mr. Jefferson's measures generally, but the highly responsible 
and special one of doing his will under the enforcing act. He 
took an extraordinary course to effect this object. The Governor, 
as commander-in-chief, issues, according to military propriety, 
his orders through the adjutant-general to the' major-generals of 
divisions, and requires of them to detach such force as occasions 
call for. Such chief cannot be supposed to know, officially, that 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 295 

there can be any difference of opinion among those who bear 
arms, and are subject to orders of superiors. All are equally- 
bound to render any legal service which is required. But his 
honor dispensed with all such forms, and took the unprecedented 
course of writing to such subaltern officers as he, in some way, 
had found out to be good sound Jeffersonians, and passed by all 
superiors, whom he, in some way, knew, or suspected to be of a 
different order. His circular, on this occasion, is worth transcrib- 
ing, as a curious instance of what a genuine republican chief 
magistrate may sometimes think to be his duty. 

" The President of the United States has directed the Secretary 
of War to request me to appoint some officer of the militia, of 
known respect for the laws, in, or near each port of entry in 
this state, with orders, when applied to by the Collector of the 
District, to assemble a sufficient force of his militia, and to em- 
ploy them efficaciously, to maintain the authority of the laws 
respecting the embargo. The President is peculiarly anxious, 
that the officers selected should be such, who can be best confided in 
to exercise so serious a power. Recollecting, that in the happy 
government established by the American people, the character of 
the citizen is not lost in that of the soldier, and that coolness, 
prompt obedience, and a sacred regard to the rights of society and 
individuals are essential to both, you will duly appreciate this 
opportunity of serving your country, and of even increasing the 
confidence she has placed in you.'''' 

This service was force by one class of citizens, distinguished 
by a political creed and by subserviency to Thomas Jefferson's 
will, against another class who considered him as depriving them 
of rights guaranteed by the constitution, with no other motive 
than to aid Napoleon to enforce his continental system. The 
House of Representatives very properly inquired into this alarming 
use^pf power; — and resolved, that these orders were irregular, 
illegal, and inconsistent with the principles of the constitution; 
tending to the destruction of military discipline; an infringement 
of the rights and derogatory to the honor of both officers and sol- 



096 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

diers; subversive of the militia system, and highly dangerous to the 
liberties of the people. 

The legality of this measure and its effect can best be com- 
prehended, by imagining selected bodies of militia to be placed 
at the disposal of President Jackson's collectors of ports ; and by 
imagining, that these bodies might be called into action against 
the citizens, whenever these collectors might be of opinion, that 
their agency was necessary in maintaining the majesty of the 
President's will! 



LETTER LIII. 

November 10, 1833. 

The experience hitherto had under our republican institutions 
clearly shows, that the only possible mode of preserving these 
institutions is to awaken the whole community to the progress of 
usurpation, and to rely on the people to save themselves. The 
Jeffersonian delusion had taken such absolute control over the 
reason of a majority of the nation, that there was no hope of dis- 
pelling it. But this was otherwise in some of the states, and so 
proved to be in Massachusetts. The effect of the embargo and 
the tyrannical measures adopted to enforce it, the poverty and 
distress which were daily increasing, compelled the citizens to 
investigate causes, and to think for themselves. They were able 
to distinguish between the real friends and supporters of con- 
stitutional policy, and those who pretended to be such. 

In April, 1809, Christopher Gore was supported by the fede- 
ralists for the office of governor, and was elected. He i§ the 
same citizen who is mentioned in Mr. Jefferson's fourth volume, 
as one of the most eminent of the monarchists and Anglomen. 
The people of Massachusetts, among whom he may be presumed 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 297 

to have been better known than he could have been to Mr. Jef- 
ferson, did not so regard him. Whether Mr. Jefferson was right, 
or whether Mr. Gore was a political hypocrite, may depend, in 
part, on the impression which the following extract from his 
speech to the legislature may make. It was delivered on the 7th 
of June, 1809. 

"Educated at a time when the principles of civil liberty were 
investigated and discussed by the sages and heroes who conceived 
and accomplished our glorious revolution, my strongest and ear- 
liest impressions were in favor of that well-regulated freedom, 
which is secured by our excellent constitution. An absence of 
eight years in the service of our common country, by the oppor- 
tunity it afforded of remarking the circumstances of other nations, 
served to confirm, and, if possible, to increase the respect and 
reverence I had previously imbibed for the civil and religious 
institutions of my native state. A comparison of our condition 
with that of any other people, must convince every one of the 
enviable situation in which we are placed, and of the superior 
means afforded to us, for enjoying all the blessings of which social 
life is capable. 

"To adopt a rule, that no man is to be selected for office, un- 
less he be of the particular sect or party of those who administer 
the government, or subscribe to their political creed, is to estab- 
lish a principle, not only not recognized by, but directly repug- 
nant to the constitution. It is, moreover, highly unjust to the 
people, as it narrows the choice for office, and may frequently 
exclude from their service the purest integrity, the highest capa- 
bilities, and the best dispositions. It is considering government 
as instituted, not for the common good, but for the exclusive 
advantage of an association or party of men. 

" The history of the United States, and of this state, has ever 
shown Massachusetts submitting with cheerfulness to the most 
important sacrifices, for supporting the common cause and gene- 
ral interests of the Union; and this without the smallest dis- 
position to dictate to the other members of the confederacy. Un- 



298 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

der the distressing circumstances of the last year, the legislature 
did what duty rendered indispensable, and surely they did no 
more." 

Extract from the answer of the House of Representatives. 

" We feel sincere pleasure in the assurance of the observance, 
on the part of your Excellency, of those great fundamental prin- 
ciples of the constitution, and of all republican governments, 
which ought never to have been denied in argument, nor violated 
in practice. We rejoice in a recurrence to the first principles of 
the social compact ; that all power resides in the whole people ; 
that government is instituted for their 'protection, safety, pros- 
perity, and happiness,' and ' not for the profit, honor, or private 
interest of any one man, family, or class of men ;' in short, that 
offices of honor or emolument are not intended to strengthen the 
hands of party, but to promote the public good. They ought not 
to be bestowed as bribes, to induce or reward political fidelity or 
apostacy ; but to place the public interest in the charge of men, 
whose principles and feelings secure their interest in its support." 

In this political year, commencing the last Wednesday in May, 
1809, among the names which appear in the executive and legis- 
lative departments, are the following: 

Christopher Gore, Governor ; David Cobb, Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor ; Edward H. Robbins, Artemas Ward, Thomas Dwight, 
Ephraim Spooner, Prentiss Mellen, Oliver Fiske, Nathaniel Dum- 
mer, William Prescott, Daniel Dewey, members of the Executive 
Council. 

Harnson Gray Otis, President of the Senate, William Spooner, 
John Phillips, Peter C. Brooks, John Welles, Suffolk Senators; 
and a majority in that branch, of men of like character. 

Timothy Bigelow, Speaker of the House. Among the mem- 
bers who represented Boston, were William Brown, William 
Phillips, Daniel Sargent, Benjamin Russell, John Parker, Joseph 
Head, Charles Jackson, William H. Sumner, Daniel Massenger, 
Warren Dutton, John T. Apthorp, and twenty-six others of like 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 299 

character and of various vocations; and a majority of men oflike 
standing in the House. 

It was at this time, that Mr. J. Q. Adams imagined, that a dan- 
gerous conspiracy was going on to sever the Union, and establish 
a northern confederacy. As these citizens who have been men- 
tioned, and many others of like character and condition, were 
those who directed the tone of public sentiment at that time, cer- 
tainly Mr. Adams would find some of his disunionists and con- 
spirators among those who have been named.* It belongs to him 
to point them out, and to compare the opinions, by them publicly 
expressed, with any other opinions which he knows them to have 
expressed or entertained. 

Those of the seat of government have been mentioned rather 
than others from other parts of the state, because it appears, that 
Mr. Madison particularly alludes to this " seat of government" 
as the seat of co?ispiracy. 

Of those who have been mentioned as members of the execu- 
tive or legislative branches, Mr. Gore and Mr. Otis will be else- 
where mentioned. There are others whom it may be proper to 
notice more particularly here. General Cobb, who was Lieutenant- 
Governor, had been a member of General Washington's military 
family during most of the war. He was a physician ; and after 
the peace he resumed his practice at Taunton, and was Chief 
Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. In the times when the 
insurrectionary spirit displayed itself in his county, he was major- 
general of the militia as well as chief justice of the court. He 

* There is one man, but lately deceased, who has done more good to the 
American nation, than some who have called forth extravagant eulogies, or than 
one man, who has been figured in bronze and marble. A sensible, well-informed, 
diligent editor has a powerful influence on public opinion. Benjamin Russell, 
editor of the Centinel for nearly half a century, was not surpassed, if equalled, by 
any man in that vocation, since the revolutionary war. He was the best commenta- 
tor on the belligerent events of Europe that there then was in the United States. 
He was well versed in the character of men, and in the bearing of party policy at 
home. His long-continued paper is an historical treasure. Benjamin Russell de- 
serves well of his country. 



300 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

left the bench to exercise his military command ; and declared, 
that " he would sit as a judge, or die as a general." 

General Cobb was a man of middle stature and of full person ; 
his face was large, and expressive of a manly and resolute heart. 
He was frank, sincere, and honorable ; and expressed his opinions 
without reserve ; and, thinking as he did of the opponents of 
Washington and of the friends of Jefferson, he sometimes gave 
opportunity to his political adversaries to quote his sayings to 
their advantage. But a more pure, kind-hearted, honorable gen- 
tleman than General Cobb never lived. He was full of good so- 
cial feeling, and was welcome and gratefully received in the cir- 
cles, where the rational enjoyment of whatsoever is pleasant to the 
senses, derives a value from the interchange of intellectual sym- 
pathy. He prolonged his life by a course of remarkable absti- 
nence, after having been the delight of social circles for no small 
portion of his days. He was a true Washington-man in all his 
political feelings, and saw, with sincere regret, the decline and 
probable extinction of the true principles of republicanism, 
which he had devoted the meridian of his life to secure and pre- 
serve. 

Timothy Bigelow, for a series of years Speaker of the House, 
was a lawyer of eminence in the county of Middlesex. Perhaps 
no man has spoken to so many juries as Mr. Bigelow. He was 
most faithfully devoted to the cause of the revolution. His ear- 
liest impressions were associated with the great contest for liberty. 
He used to speak with enthusiasm of the national constitution and 
of the Union, as consequences of success. He was a kind-hearted, 
friendly man, and had many affectionate friends. He was dis- 
tinguished as a man of taste ; towards the close of his life he 
took great delight in horticultural employments, and may claim 
with others the merit of exciting the demand for this gratification, 
which has now attained an eminence, associated no less with 
science than with pleasure. Mr. Bigelow was a tall man, well 
formed, and of courteous manners. He had the narrative gift in 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 301 

an eminent degree ; which, among other qualities, made society 
with him exceedingly grateful. 

To one who looks back on what the social world w r as, it seems 
as though money-making and selfishness had frozen the currents 
of the heart. That frank, friendly, social, hospitable intercourse, 
which was once the delight of this land, is gone, (it is feared,) for 
ever ; and the cold, calculating spirit of accumulation, or the 
worthless emulation of show and splendor, has succeeded. 

Among those who have been mentioned as participating in the 
government of 1809, there are some yet alive. It would be grate- 
ful to speak of them as they should be spoken of, as well as of 
some, who are not here to see the withering of the hopes which 
they delighted to cherish. In the first case, there is the risk of 
offending men w T ho are not solicitous of the world's notice ; and 
in the second, the field is unlimited, and there must be a stopping- 
place somewhere. 

It might have been supposed, that intelligent and far-sighted 
merchants would have been better judges of their own interests, 
than southern planters, or than lawyers, or cultivators from the 
new regions of the west. Good or bad judges, they condemned, 
almost with unanimity, the policy of Jefferson and Madison. 
Those, who had the most to lose, or to gain in commercial enter- 
prises, were the most decided in their condemnation. Few of 
the eminent merchants of those days are here to lament similar 
grievances and follies of the present day. Among those who 
are no longer among us, and who might be distinguished as in- 
telligent and accomplished men of business, were James Perkins 
and Thomas C. Amory* The former and his partner, Thomas H. 

* It cannot be unacceptable to any one who knew Thomas C. Jlmory, to offer a 
passing tribute to his memory. He died in November, 1812, at the age of 44. He 
was a tall man, of amiable and intelligent countenance, of frank and courteous 
manners, of clear, sound judgment, and executive capacity. Such qualities may not 
distinguish him from some others ; but he had qualities, which if they did not so 
distinguish him, placed him high among those who are so fortunate as to have the 
like ones. He had as kind and friendly a heart as ever beat in human bosom. 
He was considerate of others; the friend and the visitor of the sorrowful and un- 

26 



302 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Perkins, were the first Canton merchants in the world. Thomas 
C. Amory was extensively engaged in very varied commerce on 
the ocean. To these might be added hundreds of others, who 
were large ship-owners. None of these could discern anything 
in the commercial measures of the administration, but defeat Of 
their plans and ruin to their prospects. 

There can be little doubt, that the care and solicitude concern- 
ing ships, merchandise and seamen, manifested by Jefferson and 
Madison, were mere pretences. Neither of these gentlemen dif- 
fered in opinion from Napoleon on such subjects; and he fully 
accorded with the Romans, (as shown by Cicero,) in placing mer- 
chants among the lower orders of society. These friends of liberty 
seem not to have known, that commerce and liberty are twin sis- 
ters; that merchants have been the true patrons of the arts, of science 
and literature ; the munificent supporters of public and charita- 
ble institutions ; the ornament of social life. Even in our own little 
community, how many instances are fresh in memory of noble 
liberality among merchants? In the same street are seen two spa- 
cious buildings, formerly the dwelling-places of two brothers, one 
of them the gift of one of these brothers to the Atheneeum,* the 
other, the gift of the other brother, as an asylum for the blind ;f 
gifts, not postponed to the time when the owner and his property 
must part for ever, but while the donors were in full life. To 
commerce also are we indebted for one of the most valued chari- 
ties in the nation. A merchant bequeathed an hundred thousand 
dollars to the Lunatic Hospital. | These are the fruits of that 
commercial dealing which Jefferson and Madison heartily de- 
spised. There will be found, in a subsequent page, some notice 
of Jefferson's opinions on merchants; and no difference is known 
between his opinions and those of Madison. 

fortunate; and of noble generosity. He was eminently hospitable, and one of the 
most acceptable companions that ever adorned a social circle. His death, in the 
zenith of manhood, was a mournful bereavement. At this long distance from that 
svent, survivors remember him with a freshness of feeling and interest, which 
makes it seem as the loss of yesterday. 

* James Perkins. t Thomas Handasyde Perkins. % John McLean. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 303 

The embargo having; been removed, and the busy citizens of 
Massachusetts having engaged in their accustomed vocations; 
and thinking more of these than of political dangers and duties, 
an opportunity again occurred for the friends of the people to take 
a majority into their custody. Elbridge Gerry was by them nomi- 
nated against Governor Gore, and was the successful candidate. 
He was the chief magistrate from May, 1810, to May, 1812. 
As there is nothing to be said of his administration which one 
could take pleasure in saying, so the pain of speaking of it as it 
may have deserved may be avoided. When the time comes for 
writing the sober History of Massachusetts, the historian will find 
abundant materials for his work in these two years; and the ex- 
ercise of party power in districting the commonwealth for the 
choice of senators, is particularly commended to his notice. He 
will find the language enriched by a new term, (Gerrymandering,) 
which may often find a suitable application, when the origin of it 
may have been forgotten. He may find it in the patriotic labors 
of the two years in which Mr. Gerry was Governor of Massa- 
chusetts. 

The dark and mysterious administration of Mr. Madison, the 
able and enlightened discussions of the press, the exercise of 
power in Governor Gerry's time, the apprehension of war with 
Great Britain, and of alliance with France, again called the atten- 
tion of our community from their private affairs to the duties of 
citizens. It was a relief and gratification, hardly to be described, 
to one portion of the people of this state, that they were to have, 
at the head of the Commonwealth, the calm, steady, constitutional 
republican Caleb Strong, in the trying times that were expected, 
and not Elbridge Gerry. If this change had not occurred, the 
condition of Massachusetts and of its militia cannot be contem- 
plated without dismay. There must have been a civil war, or the 
militia would have gone to lay their bones in Canada, in the 
fruitless, hopeless attempt to conquer that country; while the 
seaboard would have remained subject to all the miseries which 
a vindictive foe could inflict. 



304 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER LIV. 

November 16, 1833. 

Mr. Jefferson's political life and his embargo system termi- 
nated about the same time, the former on the fourth, the latter on 
the fifteenth of March, 1809. The American people resumed 
their industry as well as they could, under the remaining embar- 
rassments of non-intercourse with England, which was a serious 
one, and with France, which was believed to be a mere show of 
impartiality, and of little real importance. Mr. Jefferson retired 
to Monticello. In what manner Mr. Jefferson disposed of himself, 
during the seventeen years through which his life was prolonged, 
he has permitted the world to know from his volumes. With the 
help of these it may be proper to inquire into his real motives for 
proposing and insisting on the continuance of the embargo, be- 
cause in the sweeping demand of his idolizers for gratitude and 
admiration, this measure makes a prominent figure in the acts on 
which that demand must be founded. 

The declared motive for this measure, (unprecedented any- 
where in the world, unless in China,) as expressed in the message 
proposing it, was to protect "our vessels, our seamen and mer- 
chandise from the belligerents." No one can know the real 
motive of Mr. Jefferson so well as himself; and he says, that the 
motive assigned in his message was not the real one. 

On the 25th of December, 1825, he wrote a letter to his faithful 
friend, William B. Giles, (vol. iv. p. 519,) in which he gives an 
account of an interview with Mr. John Quincy Adams. He 
therein sets forth, that Mr. Adams "spoke of the dissatisfaction 
of the Eastern portion of our confederacy with the restraints of the 
embargo then existing, and their restlessness under it. That 
there was nothing which might not be attempted to rid themselves 
of it: that he had information, of the most unquestionable cer- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 305 

tainty, that certain citizens of the Eastern states, (I think he 
named Massachusetts particularly,) were in negotiation with 
agents of the British government, the object of which was an 
agreement, that New England should take no farther part in the 
war then going on," &c. [Mr. Jefferson then goes on about the 
war, which had not yet happened ; and perhaps alludes to some 
other patriotic communication of Mr. Adams about his fellow- 
citizens of Massachusetts.] "I expressed," (says Mr. Jefferson,) 
"a just sense of the merit of this information, and of the import- 
ance of this disclosure to the safety, and even the salvation of our 
country; and, however reluctant I was to abandon the measure, 
(a measure, which, persevered in a littlelonger, we had subsequent 
and satisfactory assurance, would have effected its object com- 
pletely,) from that moment, and influenced by that information, I 
saw the necessity of abandoning it ; and instead of effecting our 
purpose by this peaceful weapon, we must fight it out, or break the 
Union. " 

What was the object to be completely effected ? Certainly not 
the preservation of vessels, seamen and merchandise, for that 
was effected when the embargo was imposed. Was it to compel 
England to renounce her blockades, and to cease to violate our 
neutral rights? These objects were obtained by the treaty of 
1806, which Mr. Jefferson rejected. Was it to prevent impress- 
ment? How would the continuance of the embargo "a little 
longer" have effected that object? This matter had been arranged 
with Pinckney and Monroe, in London, to their satisfaction, but 
not to that of Mr. Jefferson. There is some ground to believe, 
then, that Mr. Jefferson confesses he misrepresented his motive in 
proposing the embargo to Congress, in December, 1807; and that 
he admits the embargo to have been a hostile measure to England ; 
or, in other words, a part of the continental system. The sum 
of Mr. Jefferson's political wisdom in this matter comes to this : 
He was willing to impose an annual loss of fifty millions on his 
own countrymen, and enforce his system of restriction at the 
point of the bayonet, to aid Napoleon in humbling England. This 

26* 



306 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

it would doubtless have pleased him to do, even at that cost, with 
all its consequences. It is surprising, that this wise statesman 
was the last man in the nation to perceive, that his costly, oppres- 
sive and ruinous measure had no tendency to effect his object. 

In another part of the same volume, (iv. p. 125,) Mr. Jefferson 
gives a different version of his embargo policy, in a letter to Du- 
pont de Nemours. He therein contradicts his resolution formed on 
Mr. Adams' statement of the restlessness and plots of the East 
and North. He says: "The edicts of the two belligerents, for- 
bidding us to be seen on the ocean, we met by an embargo. 
This gave us time to call home our seamen, ships and property ; 
to levy men, and put our seaports into a certain state of defence," 
(by building gun-boats?) "We have now taken off the embar- 
go, except as to France and England and their territories, because 
fifty millions of exports annually sacrificed are the treble of what 
war would cost us ; besides, that by war we should gain some- 
thing, and lose less than at present." 

It requires all Mr. Jefferson's ingenuity to reconcile this with 
his remarks found in vol. iv., p. 148, in a letter to General Dear- 
born, and also with his opinion on Mr. Adams' disclosures : " The 
federalists, during their short-lived ascendency, have, neverthe- 
less, by forcing us from the embargo, inflicted a wound on our 
interests, which can never be cured ; and on our affections, which 
will require time to cicatrize. I ascribe all this to one pseudo- 
republican Story. He came on, and staid only a few days; 
long enough, however, to get complete hold of Bacon* who 
giving in to his representations, became panic-struck, and com- 
municated his panic to his colleagues; and they to a majority of 
the sound members of Congress." 

The comparison of these various accounts of the matter leaves 
one in no doubt, that Mr. Jefferson really intended to promote the 
views of Napoleon by the embargo, and that the " preservation," 
set forth in his message, was only the mask of the true purpose. 

* A member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 307 

By keeping the vessels of the United States at home, he pre- 
vented the products of the United States from reaching England, 
and the products of England from coming to the United States. 
This was one step beyond Napoleon. It looks as though Mr. 
Jefferson had, in this matter, suggested what was false, and sup- 
pressed what was true. But then it should be remembered, that 
he thought it was right to do so. That is, it was right, by any 
means, and at any cost and oppression to his own countrymen, 
to strengthen France in her war of destruction against England; 
and at the same time to break down monarchists and Anglomen. 
Nevertheless, on this " calm revisal," the embargo system is not 
a ground on which the admirers of Mr. Jefferson can safely rest 
his fame for wisdom and virtue, in days to come. 

It may be asked, what a wise and honest President would have 
done in this state of the country? He would have waited for the 
result of the negotiations in England. When the treaty came, 
as it provided effectually for every subject of controversy but 
that of impressment; as there were assurances on that subject 
as satisfactory as can ever be expected from a maritime nation, 
he would have ratified the treaty. If he did not dare to recom- 
mend a defensive war against France, he would have left it to the 
good sense of merchants to regulate their own affairs, and to have 
taken their chance upon the ocean. The marine of France was 
little to be feared. Mercantile ingenuity would have discerned 
modes of profitable commerce ; and the gain of successful enter- 
prise would have far exceeded occasional loss. If Mr. Jefferson 
really intended to protect seamen, ships and commerce, he was 
not statesman enough to know how this could be effected. It is 
most consistent with his own declarations to believe, that these 
objects were sacrificed to promote his own purposes. 



308 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER LV. 

November 20, 1833. ' 

Mr. Jefferson may be considered under two aspects : First, as 
a witness against a large portion of his fellow-citizens. Secondly, 
as a citizen and statesman, who confidently claims the respect 
and gratitude of his country and of posterity, for eminent public 
services ; services which, he says, no other man but himself could 
have performed. Under the first aspect, he presents himself in a 
character which seriously affects the memory of the dead, the 
feelings of the living, the honor of his country, and the interests 
of mankind. If Mr. Jefferson is a credible witness, the men who 
conducted the American revolution, who founded the national 
government, and who administered our national affairs for the 
first twelve years, were the most unprincipled, profligate and 
wicked body of men who are known in history. They are worse 
than the Roman triumvirates and their associates, for these did 
not conceal their purposes, but did their work openly. If Mr. 
Jefferson is a credible witness, he casts a deep and discouraging 
shade on the hopes of mankind, that there are honor, intelligence 
and virtue enough in the world, to assert and maintain the right 
to rational self-government. In the second aspect: if Mr. Jeffer- 
son did not render such services to his country ; if he rendered 
to it no service, which entitles his memory to respect and grati- 
tude; if he misapplied his trust; if he established theories tend- 
ing to destroy republican ' government ; if he oppressed and 
afflicted his country more than any man who has lived in it; if 
he established a party dominion, unknown and repugnant to the 
constitution ; if such dominion is seen to be here, as elsewhere 
in the history of nations, the precursor of popular despotism, and 
that, the precursor of military despotism, it is time that Mr. Jef- 
ferson's example and doctrines should be understood in this land; 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 309 

it is time that dignified senators should cease to read his books, 
as an authority in their discussions. 

There was no one among those whom Mr. Jefferson has spent 
so much time in defaming, who did not learn with regret, that 
the abstraction from his private affairs, his unavoidable expendi- 
tures, his liberal hospitality, and the general effect of his own 
policy, had imposed upon him, in the decline of life, some em- 
barrassments. 

Alive to this state of things, he sought relief, by suggesting the 
grant of an authority from the legislature of his native state, to 
sell his property by lottery. Congress had done for him a very 
liberal act in the purchase of his library, to replace that destroyed 
by the British, in that war which Mr. Jefferson could have easily 
prevented, but did not. To induce the legislature so to interpose, 
Mr. Jefferson made an elaborate disquisition on the policy of lot- 
teries, which appears in his 4th volume, pages 428-438. Having 
established the utility and the morality of lotteries, he goes on to 
show the propriety of extending the benefit of such a measure to 
himself, on the ground of his public services. He sets forth what 
he had been, and what he had done. As to the services done 
to his native state as there enumerated; that is, in abolishing 
"hereditary and high-handed aristocracy," "the right of primo- 
geniture" (in a community dependent on a peculiar sort of labor) ; 
attacking a "dominant religion;" in other words, taking from 
Episcopalian clergymen their parsonages and glebe lands; and 
his services as "governor," are all matters for the consideration 
alone of Virginians. To the same parties may be referred his 
foresight and good sense in the establishment of the University, 
in which, it is said, there is no provision for religious instruction. 
It is the present purpose to consider him only as a national citizen 
and ruler. 

Mr. Jefferson refers to the address of the legislature of Virginia, 
on his retirement, in 1809, as illustrative of his merits. He adds: 
"There is one service, not therein specified, the most important in 
its consequences of any transaction in any portion of my life ; to 



310 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

wit, the head I personally made against the federal principles 
and proceedings, during the administration of Mr. Adams. Their 
usurpations and violations of the constitution, at that period, and 
their majorities in both Houses of Congress were so great, so de- 
cided, and so daring, that, after contesting their aggressions inch 
by inch, without being able in the least to check their career, the 
republican leaders thought it would be best for them to give up 
their useless efforts there; go home, and get into their respective 
legislatures, embody whatever resistance they could be formed 
into, and, if ineffectual, to perish there as in the last ditch. All, 
therefore, retired, leaving Mr. Gallatin alone in the House of 
Representatives, and myself in the Senate, where I presided as 
Vice President. Remaining at our posts, and bidding defiance 
to the browbeatings and insults, by which they endeavored to 
drive us off also, we kept the mass of republicans in phalanx 
together, until the legislatures could be brought up to the charge ; 
and nothing on earth is more certain, than that if I myself, par- 
ticularly, placed by my office of Vice President at the head of 
the republicans, had given way and withdrawn from my post, the 
republicans, throughout the Union, would have given up in de- 
spair, and the cause would have been lost for ever. By holding 
on, we obtained time for the legislatures to come up with their 
weight; and "those of Virginia and Kentucky particularly; but 
more especially the former, by their celebrated resolutions, saved 
the constitution at its last gasp. No person, who was not a wit- 
ness of the scenes of that gloomy period, can form any idea of 
the afflicting persecutions and personal indignities we had to brook. 
They saved our country, however. The spirits of the people were 
so much subdued and reduced to despair by the X Y Z impos- 
ture, and other stratagems and machinations, that they would have 
sunk into apathy and monarchy, as the only form of government 
which could maintain itself." 

Certainly this great service well deserved not only a lottery, 
but a bronze statue, even if Mr. Jefferson had never laid and 
enforced an embargo, or built a gun-boat. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 3H 

But this gentleman does himself injustice by commencing the 
detail of his services in demolishing the " hydra of federalism," 
(as he somewhere calls it,) with his patriotic valor, while in the 
chair of Vice President. He might consistently have ranged 
under the same head, his patronage of Freneau, Bache and Du- 
ane, (honorably mentioned in his volumes,) as his coadjutors in 
this service to his country. He might have mentioned his libe- 
rality to that "man of science," James Thompson Callender. 
Nor ought he to have disregarded the author of " The Age of 
Reason" and of the "Letter to Washington," to whom Mr. Jef- 
ferson paid the national compliment of offering him a passage 
from France in the Maryland sloop of war; and for whom he 
offers the "sincere prayer:" " May you long live to continue 
your useful labors, and to reap their reward in the thankfulness 
of nations." (Vol. iii., p. 459.) If these patriots had not aided 
Mr. Jefferson with their pens, it is really doubtful, whether Mr. 
Gallatin and "myself" could have been sufficiently strengthened 
to stand in the gap against browbeatings and indignities, until 
the constitution was rescued from the hands of its enemies. 

As France and Jeffersonism on the one hand, and England and 
federalism on the other, constitute the two great parties, to uphold 
the one of which, and destroy the other, Mr. Jefferson toiled and 
devoted his patriotic life, he has done himself another injustice. 
He should have gone back to his report of December, 1793, 
made when he was Secretary of State, and which disclosed the 
true principles on which his own administration and that of Mr. 
Madison were founded. He should have taken to himself the 
merit of following this out during twenty years, through commer- 
cial restrictions, evasive and deceitful negotiations, gifts of mil- 
lions to Napoleon, oppressive and tyrannical embargo, and, finally, 
war, unprepared for, costly and profitless. 

Mr. Jefferson did himself still another injustice, (as he com- 
mences with his manhood,) in saying nothing of the declaration 
of independence. This was one of his proud achievements ; and 
the facsimile of it is appended to his fourth volume. This gen- 



312 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

tleman's friends have treated this production, as though it were an 
original invention; the true corner-stone of the revolution laid 
by this great architect. One would not take from Mr. Jefferson 
any trophy wherewith he may think he ought to be adorned. 
The declaration is a writing highly honorable to him, the most so 
of any that came from his pen. It is a solemn and sacred writ- 
ing, and privileged from all criticism. If his admirers had asked 
for him no other praise than this, it would have been improper to 
touch on this matter. But these admirers have referred to this 
authorship as proof, that Mr. Jefferson could not err as to the 
constitution, or in patriotism, or policy. Such a shield it ought 
not to be. This writing sets forth why a declaration should be 
made ; next, a recognition, (not an invention,) of social and po- 
litical principles ; then a statement of British tyrannies ; and then 
the inference, that the colonies have the right, and that it is their 
duty, to free themselves from the parent country. It concludes 
with a solemn pledge to maintain freedom and independence. 
Now it cannot be denied, that such were the sentiments which 
thousands of our countrymen entertained at that day. They had 
been again and again expressed in popular essays, in congres- 
sional speeches, and on so many occasions, that in June, 1776, 
there could be no new thoughts. Mr. Jefferson has the merit of 
having taken these thoughts, (as much his own as of hundreds of 
others, and no more,) and of having arranged them, and clothed 
them in suitable and expressive language. This is meritorious, 
and this country is grateful for the acceptable manner in which 
that work was done. But this is not a satisfactory reason, why 
Mr. Jefferson should be considered as having done equally well, 
all that he ever afterwards undertook to do. Let him have the full 
credit of that labor; and judge of him righteously as to all others. 
Mr. Jefferson, with perfect consistency, does claim for himself 
respect and gratitude for establishing the doctrine of Nullifica- 
tion. He boasts, that he was the author of the Kentucky resolu- 
tions in 1798, and the promoter of like resolutions in Virginia, in 
the same year. These resolutions declared two laws of Congress 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 313 

to be null and void. (Sedition and Alien.) Here is found (as 
admitted by Mr. J. C. Calhoun, in his publication of his "Senti- 
ments," dated July 26, 1831), the real theory on which the state 
of South Carolina assumes to decide for itself, what laws of the 
Union it will obey, and which of them it will resist with force and 
arms. If Mr. Jefferson had done no other acts tending to disunion 
and civil war, his memory deserves any sentiment rather than 
that which he demands for himself of his countrymen. 



LETTER LVI. 

November 25, 1S33. 

Mr. Jefferson's volumes make known to any one who has the 
necessary patience to read them, that he entertained opinions on 
social and political relations, which are utterly adverse to those 
expressed and maintained by the wise and virtuous republicans 
of the last two centuries. His opinions are entitled to no earlier 
origin than the days of the French Revolution. What can be 
less worthy of an intelligent mind than his theories on the rights 
of successive generations? and of the incapacity of one generation 
to bind its followers by any obligation ? What less acceptable to 
the lovers of order and social stability, than the periodical recur- 
rence of rebellions ? It is not surprising that one who entertained 
such opinions, should gravely assert, that when the constitution- 
ality of a law is doubted, the whole nation must wait until a con- 
vention can be called by two-thirds of the states, to take the 
matter into consideration and decide upon it. (Vol. iv. p. 374.) 
Within a short time, a disciple of Mr. Jefferson has maintained 
the same doctrine in the Senate of the United States. In what 
27 



314 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

manner he was met and answered, (and with the general applause 
of the nation,) cannot be forgotten. 

To the same source is to be traced the impracticable, not to say 
absurd notions on currency and banking, which some persons 
maintain at the present day; notions, proved by the experience 
of all commercial people, and by none more than our own, to be 
untenable and visionary. In truth, all the disorganizing and 
destructive "heresies," which certain politicians of the present 
times adhere to, are to be found in Mr. Jefferson's theories or 
practice. And yet this gentleman says, in obviating the objec- 
tion of precedent in allowing to him a lottery : " Let those who shall 
quote the precedent bring their case within the same measure. 
Have they, as in this case, devoted threescore years and one of 
their lives to the service of their country? Has the share they 
have borne in holding their new government to its genuine princi- 
ples, been equally markedV 

What pretension can Mr. Jefferson have to say that he did 
this? The original founders of this new government intended to 
bring, and did bring the people of the United States into a national 
Union: to secure to them the services of the most able and 
virtuous among them, in maintaining peace, commerce, and 
friendly intercourse with all nations ; to prepare for defence against 
foreign insult and aggression, and to resist and resent, when na- 
tional honor demanded that course; to promote internal commerce, 
and to keep the sovereign members of the Union in peace and 
amity with each other; to give to domestic ingenuity and enter- 
prise their fair competition with other nations; to assuage and 
compromise the jealousies and differences, which might be ex- 
pected, from the expanding and unfolding of the powers of a 
great and increasing people. This intention was fully accom- 
plished — accomplished to the surprise and envy of the elder world ; 
and if Thomas Jefferson had never lived, it is believed that this 
substantial and beautiful reality would not have been dissipated. 

He came into this new government, and by means which he 
has fully disclosed ; and there he ruled and reigned by the magic 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 315 

of his pen.* Passing over his disastrous policy with foreign na- 
tions ; the oppressions, losses, and sufferings which he inflicted 
on his countrymen ; grievous as these were, they are all nothing 
to that grievous wound which he gave to this " new government," 
and which seems likely to prove a mortal one. 

Mr. Jefferson drew the line between rich and poor in a republic 
where family influence is unknown, where inheritance depends 
on equal distribution, where wealth depends on industry and ta- 
lents, and where the poor man's son is far more likely to attain to 
office and honor than the sons of the rich. Mr. Jefferson onran- 
ized the elements which make up that monster — party; he in- 
vited apostacy ; he established the odious doctrine of " rewards 
and punishments ;" he made devotion to the man, not to the con- 
stitution, the passport to office ; he taught the " people," (as he 
calls them,) to sacrifice to personal feuds and jealousies, their re- 
spect for the institutions of their country. It was he who misled 
and debased the public mind, and who converted honorable and 
patriotic service in a free republic, into a low, selfish, and dis- 
honest struggle for office. He led the way to popular despotism. 
The perils, sufferings, and dread of the present hour, are all from 
his impulse. 

That which is most to be lamented in all this, is his sincerity ; 
his real belief that all was right; that all he did was truly pa- 
triotic ; and that he is richly entitled to his reward, in the respect 
and gratitude of all succeeding generations. That which is 
truly disheartening to the friends of the constitution, of the Union, 
and of rational republican liberty, is, that there are so many in- 
telligent and respectable men in the United States, who con- 

* This book, and the " History of the Hartford Convention," by Theodore Dwight, 
furnished ;i writer in the North American Review (No. 84, July, 1834), witli an 
opportunity i<> give his views of "The old parties." It is a very remarkable pro- 
duction. Ji required an answer, and one appeared in a pamphlet of forty pages, 
on the first of September, at Boston. In this maybe found some disquisition on 
the magic of Mr. Jefferson's pen; and some further development of his real cha- 
racter. 



316 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

scientiously believe, to this day, in "the great and good" Mr. 
Jefferson. But his glories are fading in the brilliancy of the 
" greatest and best," the rightful successor in the line of which 
Jefferson was the first. 



LETTER LVII. 

November 30, 1833. 

Mr. Jefferson found the United States, in 1801, at peace and 
in amity with all Europe ; in the enjoyment of a secure and pros- 
perous commerce ; with a respectable navy ; a sound credit ; a 
learned and independent judiciary. He found, it is true, some 
increase of debt for money honorably and profitably expended, 
but which was insignificant and hardly to be felt under the effect 
of Alexander Hamilton's system of finance. He left the United 
States embroiled with England ; more so with France ; he had 
demolished the navy and the judiciary, so far as he had power to 
do it ; he had banished the flag of the United States from the 
ocean ; he had cost the people in actual, but useless expenditure, 
and by unwise restrictions on commerce, an immense sum, which 
he estimated, merely as to exports for one year of the embargo, 
at fifty millions. The nation was probably one hundred millions 
the worse for Mr. Jefferson's philosophy and statesmanship. 
There is not the least doubt, that, if there had been a federal ad- 
ministration instead of that of Thomas Jefferson, during his eight 
years, the people of the United States would have gained and 
saved together, a sum equal to the cost of the revolutionary war. 
But he had slain federalism, and this he distinguishes as the chief 
trophy of his political career.* 

* " The war, ad inter necioncm, which we have waged against federalism, has 
fdled our latter times with strife and unhappiness. Wc have met it, with pain in- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 317 

What a difference would it have made to the people of this 
country, if Mr. Jefferson's successor had been an able, faithful, 
constitutional President of the United States, and not the mere 
chief of a vindictive and deluded party! Such a President, it is to 
be feared, the people of this country are never again to see. If 
they do not, it will be for the reason that Mr. Jefferson and Mr. 
Madison have been in the place of President. 

Mr. Madison was a wiser and a better man than Mr. Jefferson. 
He had done himself an honor, for which his countrymen should 
ever be grateful, in forming, recommending, and sustaining the 
constitution, jointly with Jay and Hamilton, against its irrecon- 
cilable opponents. He was not mean and malignant, like Jeffer- 
son. He was well informed ; an able debater ; a good writer; a 
man of comprehensive and useful mind. There is nothing in the 
life of Mr. Madison to show that he was not an honorable man. 
It was his misfortune to have adopted all the notions of Mr. 
Jefferson, as to France and England, and to have carried these 
fully into his administration. How far he acted in pursuance of 
his own judgment, and how far he yielded to the counsels of party, 
will never be known. This gentleman, it may be supposed, will 
not order the publication of his confidential letters and of his 
"Anas," when he is dead. He will leave history to do its duty. 
It will do this, no doubt, impartially; and though it may not com- 
mend his measures as a statesman and public agent, it will not 
disgrace him as a man. 

Mr. Madison may have better claim to charity than Mr. Jeffer- 
son. The latter was the inventor of a course of policy in which 
the former was, probably, so deeply involved, that he could not 
escape from it, when placed at the head of the nation. A parly 
chief soon finds himself a mere vassel. He well knows that his 
creators can annihilate. He has three alternatives; he can retire 
— he can throw himself on the confidence of adversaries and seek 

deed, but with firmness, because we believed it the last convulsive effort of that 
Hydra, which in earlier times we bad conquered in the field." (Jefferson to Dr. 
Logan, May 11th, 1805. vol. iv., p. 35.) 

27* 



318 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

their support — he must do the will of his party. Mr. Madison 
embraced neither of the first two alternatives. If he adopted the 
last, his friends will support him by maintaining, that this was 
the true course of wisdom and patriotism. So far as the world 
knows, Mr. Madison sincerely approved of all Mr. Jefferson's 
policy. If so, his countrymen are the proper judges of his merits. 
It is certain, that Mr. Jefferson approved of all Mr. Madison's 
policy, as being a continuation of his own; and being such, his 
countrymen will judge of his merits.* 

The first indication of Mr. Madison's devotion to Jeffersonism 
is found in his resolutions presented to the House of Representa- 
tives in January, 1794, to carry into effect Mr. Jefferson's report, 
as Secretary of State, dated in the preceding month. The object 
of these resolutions is supposed to have been, to withdraw the 
commerce of the United States from England, and to bestow it 
on France. From this time to the close of the war, in 1815, he 
faithfully pursued the Jeffersonian policy of strengthening France, 
and prostrating England, and of breaking down federalism. In 
all this he was another Jefferson. It ought not to be doubted, 
that Mr. Madison was honest in all this, however unfortunate it 
may have been for his country. But this inference is to be drawn, 
that a mere partisan may become so thoroughly imbued with the 
spirit of party, as to be incapable of receiving any sentiment of 
an exalted and patriotic duty to a whole community. To every- 
thing British Mr. Madison seems to have entertained a decided 
and unchangeable hostility. He associated all political opposi- 
tion with his British enmity. The correlative of this was devo- 

* "My friendship for Mr. Madison, my confidence in his wisdom and virtue, and 
my approbation of all his measures, and especially of his taking up, at length, the 
gauntlet against England, is known to all with whom I have ever conversed, or 
corresponded on these measures. The word federal, or its synonyme lie, may, there- 
fore, be written under every word of Mr. Ralph's paragraph." (Jefferson to Leiper, 
June 12, 1815, vol. iv. p. 2G5.) 

What Mr. Jefferson meant \>y friendship, is known from his 4th vol. p. 176. 

Et idem velle, et idem nolle, ea demwn umicitia est. (To have the same desires and 
aversions is friendship.) 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 319 

tion to France. This devotion, equally manifested throughout the 
changes in that country, from the terrible misrule of democracy 
to the tranquillity of no less terrible despotism, in the person of 
imperial Napoleon, could have had no other prompting, than the 
utility of prostrating, or humbling tyrannical England. We hope 
that no one will take the impression, from anything expressed in 
this volume, that any member of the Jeffersonian party was 
corruptly devoted to France. This party no more desired the 
subjugation of this country to France, than to England. The 
sole purpose is to compare the merits, policy and usefulness of 
the leaders of the two parties ; and to infer which of the two 
classes are best entitled to that praise and respect which Mr. 
Jefferson claims exclusively for himself and his party associates. 

One would like to know whether Mr. Madison, in his retire- 
ment and retrospection, retains the belief that he governed wisely. 
Credit may be safely given to him for believing, that he did 
what he thought was right. He might justify himself by insist- 
ing, that he did not foresee, any more than others did, the con- 
flagration of Moscow ; the flight of Napoleon ; his fall from the 
throne ; and his exile to St. Helena ; that he did not foresee, any 
more than others did, that exasperated England, freed from 
European war, could direct all her forces to our own shores. 
Will this excuse Mr. Madison, as a patriotic and discerning states- 
man, from not foreseeing, that, if Napoleon had been as successful 
as Mr. Madison seems to have desired he should be, the freedom 
and independence of this country would have depended on a 
tremendous and appalling struggle with the same Napoleon ? 
Was there nothing in the conduct, declarations, and character 
of Napoleon, to warn him of this? How T is Mr. Madison to ex- 
cuse himself for this defect in foresight? His excuse lies in the 
terrifying fact, that ever since Mr. Jefferson's ascendency, this 
country has passed over, bound in fetters never to be broken, to 
the dominion of party. On the other hand, the principles of fede- 
ralism were nothing more nor less, than a faithful, able, and 
honest administration of national and state authority. Its object 



320 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and sole object was to promote industry, security, and happiness 
at home, according to laws, made in conformity to the constitu- 
tion; to avoid all participation in the wars of Europe, and to 
make the American name justly respected, through impartial and 
honorable policy, by all nations. These principles must always 
exist and have force, while a free republic continues. They may 
be known under various names, but in substance and effect they 
must ever be the same. Yet all who profess them, by whatever 
party name distinguished, are condemned by Thomas Jefferson and 
James Madison to the odium of opposition. All the sound con- 
stitutional principles of federalism, by whatsoever name they may 
be hereafter known, must struggle for existence against the cor- 
rupt and demoralizing influences of party. 

If this country is to be saved from despotism, originating in 
democracy, it will be done by instructing the great body of the 
people in the nature of their government, and in the perils to 
which it is exposed. Suppose a case to exist, in which a popu- 
lar President is counselled by a combination of men, who are 
unknown to the constitution as such advisers; that the Pre- 
sident and this combination are sustained by a majority of both 
branches of Congress; that the whole host of revenue officers 
are selected for their devotion to the will of a cabinet so formed ; 
that all the postmasters throughout the United States are selected 
and commissioned on the same principle, and have the facilitv 
of communication free of all expense ; that there are news- 
papers sustained and circulated for the single purpose of teach- 
ing subserviency to the cabinet, and hostility to all who venture 
to criticise their measures: that all the district attorneys and 
marshals are chosen and appointed, because they have given 
satisfactory evidence ot their devotion to the cabinet. If such 
a case may be supposed, what would be wanting to establish an 
absolute despotism in the country ? Nothing but the command 
of the public money, and a judiciary of the same class of citi- 
zens. If anything more be wanted, it might easily be found by 
getting up a pretence, foreign or domestic, to organize a militarv 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 321 

force. Are the United States free from such perils? Is there 
any possibility of awakening public attention to such perils ? 
One mode of doing this, if it can be done, is to show how nearly 
such perils have overtaken us, and how they were escaped. 

Such a party dominion existed, when Mr. Madison came to 
the presidency. The opponent party then were the federalists. 
The opponent party at this day are citizens known by some other 
party name ; but they are men of the same principles, that is, they 
are constitutionalists. The object of Mr. Madison's party was to 
put the federalists down. The object of the present dominion is 
to put down all opponents, and to have the exclusive control of 
opinion, of money, and of physical force. The citizens, who 
hold this dominion, may think all they have done, are doing, and 
intend to do, to be right and honest. So thought Mr. Madison 
and his supporters. But the country was brought to the verge of 
ruin. It is certain, that there can be no instruction but in suffer- 
ing, at the present day, unless a knowledge of what has been 
heretofore suffered from similar causes may lead to comparisons 
and inferences. There are millions in the United States who will 
listen to nothing but praises and hosannas to a ruling power. 
But they may be willing to know how similar exercise of power 
has heretofore endangered civil liberty, and they may, perhaps, be 
unwilling again to submit to the like dangers. 



LETTER LVIII. 



December 5, 1S33. 

During Mr. Jefferson's eight years he had faithfully cherished 
all the causes of controversy with Great Britain, had resolutely 
abstained from all compromise, and had used the means of nego- 
tiation, not to close, but to make the breach wider. The princi- 



322 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

pal causes of controversy were, 1. The colonial trade. 2. The 
blockades by England. 3. The affair of the Chesapeake. 4. 
Impressment of mariners from American merchant vessels. 5. 
Orders of the king in council. It is necessary, now, to look a 
little more closely at these subjects, because in these are to be 
found the pretended causes of Mr. Madison's war. 

1. The colonial trade controversy arose thus: France had 
colonies. In time of peace, neutrals could not lawfully carry 
merchandise from them to France. England insisted, that neu- 
trals should not do in time of war, what they could not do in time 
of peace ; and required that French colonial merchandise should 
be carried home to the neutral country, and a new voyage there 
commenced, if the neutral desired to carry such merchandise to 
France. This was a matter much discussed, as to the right and 

7 CD 

the wrong ; but Mr. Jefferson lost his hold on it, in consequence 
of the conquest by the British of all French colonies. 2. The 
blockades of the English. It was admitted that a place is block- 
aded, when there is a competent force before it to prevent ingress 
and egress ; but that the British could not lawfully affect the trade 
of neutrals, by declaring a whole coast blockaded, where such 
force was not present. As this point of controversy was merged 
in a remaining one, it is unnecessary to pursue it further. It 
makes, however, a conspicuous figure in the discussions of the 
day. It was a material subject in Mr. Madison's diplomacy, but 
not one for which even he would have ventured on a war. 

3. The affair of the Chesapeake and Leopard was shortly this : 
Vessels of war belonging to France and to England might, in 
1807, come into the ports of the United States. Those of France 
came, and those of England came to seek them. 

On the 7th of March, 1807, the British sloop of war, Halifax, 
was near Norfolk, Townshend, commander. Richard Hupert, 
born in Liverpool; Henry Sanders, born in Greenock; Jenkin 
Ratford, born in London ; George North, born in Kinsale; William 
Hill, born in Philadelphia, (but who shipped on board the Halifax 
at the English Island of Antigua,) were employed in a boat to 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 323 

weigh the anchor. While so employed, they rose upon the officer 
in the boat, threatened to murder him, and rowed to the American 
shore and landed. The same day they entered at the rendezvous 
of the Chesapeake, as seamen; and on the same day they were 
demanded of Lieutenant Sinclair, (of the Chesapeake,) who 
neither delivered nor discharged them. Three other demands 
were made for these men ; one by the British consul on the mayor 
of Norfolk ; one on Captain Decatur ; and one by the British 
minister on the Secretary of State. The Chesapeake sailed with 
these five men on board, and while going down the Potomac, all 
but Ratford deserted and got on shore. 

When the Chesapeake got to sea, she was met by the British 
ship, Leopard, of fifty guns, commanded by Humphreys. The 
American vessel had only 44 guns, though not of inferior force. 
Humphreys demanded these men of Captain Barron, commander 
of the Chesapeake, who replied, that "he knew of no such men 
as Captain Humphreys described." The Leopard fired upon the 
Chesapeake ; a short action ensued, and the Chesapeake struck her 
colors. The British searched the American and found Ratford in 
the coal-hole. They took him; and he was tried and executed. 
The British also took three other men, who w r ere said to be de- 
serters from the Malampus; one, a South American by birth, and 
two black men, who were runaway slaves from Maryland, and 
who protected themselves by entering on board the Malampus, 
and afterwards shipped in the Chesapeake, having deserted from 
the former. 

This was a gross outrage on the part of the British commander, 
whatever the provocation may have been, because the universally 
acknowledged principle is, that a national ship at sea, and the 
territory of its nation, are alike inviolable. Captain Humphreys 
might as lawfully have exercised force to recover these deserters 
in the city of Washington, as from the American ship. The 
British government so understood this matter, and disavowed the 
act of its officer, and offered a proper and honorable reparation, 
which w T as finally accepted before the war, and therefore this did 



324 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

not make one of the causes which led to that calamity. It would 
be tedious to follow out the right and the wrong of the negotiation 
on this subject. It was one that afforded materials abundantly 
for the purposes of irritation, which the administration faithfully 
cherished. 

4. Impressment. This is a difficult subject, arising from the 
similarity of language, manners, and appearance ; and made still 
more so by the naturalization of British subjects in the United 
States, under the patronage of Mr. Jefferson. The English, in 
searching for their own subjects, had repeatedly and oppressively 
taken native Americans. Whether they did this, knowing that 
they took such natives, is doubtful ; though they always pretended, 
at least, that they took only their own. The federalists contended, 
that this seizure of seamen was not a justifiable cause, certainly 
not a necessary cause of war at any time, until all hope of com- 
promise or redress through negotiation had failed. The federal- 
ists maintained, that all nations engaged in war have a right, as 
the necessary consequence of allegiance, to the services of their 
own subjects and citizens. That this right had been asserted 
and maintained immemorially, by all the maritime nations of 
Europe. The personal appearance and language of Europeans 
divest this subject of all difficulties among them. It is a very 
different subject as between England and the United States. 
Descended from the English, Irish and Scotch, and the common 
language being the same ; and some part of American seamen 
being British subjects by birth, but naturalized in the United 
States, it was not an easy matter to distinguish between the na- 
tives of the one country and the other. The British did not ad- 
mit that their subjects could change their native allegiance, by 
assuming one to a foreign country. They never asserted a right 
to take native Americans, but they sometimes did take them in 
the exercise of the right which they did assert. The federalists 
also contended, that the impressment affected principally the 
middle and New England states, the latter in the proportion, pro- 
bably, of three-fourths ; and that the inhabitants of New England 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 325 

were far from thinking this such a cause of complaint as to call 
for a war; that the right of taking native British subjects who 
had been naturalized, was not one in which the United States 
were so much interested, as to subject the whole country to the 
evil of war ; that England had gone so far as to modify her pre- 
tensions in a manner that ought to be satisfactory to the United 
States ; for that the British ministry had agreed with Mr. King, 
(minister in London, in 1802,) to renounce the right of searching 
American vessels for British seamen, on the high seas, and would 
exercise it only on the narrow seas, which wash the shores of 
British isles. (Over these seas England has asserted dominion 
for centuries.) That, in 1806, Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney 
made an arrangement on this subject, which they deemed to be 
"honorable and advantageous;" and, therefore, that this was, 
properly and from its own intrinsic difficulties, a subject of nego- 
tiation and not of war ; and could be adjusted in the former 
mode, and never could be by the latter. 

The principle for which Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison con- 
tended was, that the American flag should protect all who sailed 
under it. This extended not only to native citizens, but to natu- 
ralized ones, and also to any and all British subjects sailing in 
American merchantmen. The reasonableness of this requisition 
may be tested by the inquiry, whether a maritime power, which 
asserts the right to the services of its native subjects in time of 
war, could consent, that these subjects should find an asylum, 
tempting wages, and personal security in neutral vessels, when 
most wanted at home ? And whether a declaration of war would 
not be a signal for all seamen to escape into neutral service ? If 
this would be right and just for British sailors, so would it be for 
those of America. Should we consent, on the happening of a 
war with France for example, that our seamen should withdraw 
to the neutral service of England ? 

The federalists also insisted, that negotiation might, and that 
war could not devise modes of distinguishing natives of Britain 
from natives of America; that negotiation could, and war could 
28 



326 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

not settle, to what extent naturalization should protect, and what 
should be evidence, that this change of allegiance had occurred; 
that negotiation could, and war could not settle rights, in relation 
to British subjects sailing under the American flag, who had not 
been naturalized. 

The considerations thus presented had no effect on Mr. Madi- 
son. He adopted all the theories of Mr. Jefferson, manifested in 
his first presidential speech concerning aliens; and courageously 
insisted, that the American flag should protect without qualifica- 
tion or exception ; and that if England, in the midst of her strug- 
gle for existence, did not assent, she must number the United 
States among her enemies ; — a principle which no nation will be 
more likely to contend against hereafter, than that of the United 
States. 

Now, was this a wise, manly and patriotic policy on the part 
of Mr. Madison; or was it in furtherance of a long-meditated 
design, to find the most convenient opportunity to step into the 
pleasing occupation of overwhelming England, and of silencing 
the "disaffected and the worthless" at home? No reasonable 
being can doubt as to the motive of Jefferson and Madison, in 
using, as they did, this cause of complaint. 

5. The Orders in Council were commercial edicts, or regula- 
tions, ordered by the King of England, with the advice and ap- 
probation of those persons who had been, (according to the usage 
of the English government,) selected to be his personal counsel- 
lors. It was well known to federalists and to Mr. Madison and 
his party, that these orders were passed to retaliate on France her 
own insolent and oppressive decrees ; yet it was the persevering 
effort of Mr. Madison, to make it believed by the citizens of the 
United States, that England was the original aggressor. 

Between the 4th of March, 1809, when Mr. Madison became 
President, and the 18th of June, 1812, when war was declared, 
England seems to have desired sincerely to compromise the con- 
troversies with this country, and to avoid conflict. Mr. Erskine, 
a very young man and not of much experience, was British 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 327 

minister here, on the 4th of March. An arrangement was made 
with him. It was said at the time, that Mr. Madison knew, or 
might have known, that he had exceeded his authority. This 
arrangement was disavowed in England, and Erskine recalled. 
He was succeeded by Francis James Jackson, whom the admin- 
istration found so much to be displeased with, that all communi- 
cation was cut off with him, and as it was then thought, offen- 
sively and with the design to keep open the controversy. He 
was succeeded by Mr. Foster, who was equally unsuccessful. 
He remained here till war was declared. 

This period was one of very deep interest. It exercised the 
talents and called forth the eloquence of the ablest men in the 
country, in and out of Congress, who desired to avoid the calamity 
of war with England, and the inevitable consequence, an alliance 
and colonial dependence on Napoleon, if nothing worse happened. 
Some very able speeches were made in Congress, and some 
searcing pamphlets w r ere written. The legislature of Massachu- 
setts did itself great credit in declaring its opinion on the state 
of the country. All these will come in as materials of history, 
and will demonstrate the most abject subserviency to France, and 
the most impolitic hostility to England. 

As before remarked, it is not to be supposed, that Jefferson, or 
Madison, or any one of their political associates w T as acting 
under a corrupt influence of France, any more than that federal- 
ists were acting under the like influence of England. The Jef- 
fersonian party believed, that they could best support themselves 
by adhering to France ; and by charging their adversaries with 
being under British influence, and with plots to sever the Union 
and set up a northern kingdom, or, perhaps, subject the northern 
part again to Great Britain. The federalists could deny these 
charges, and could retaliate by charging the Jeffersonians with 
real despotism, and adduce devotion to the despot of continental 
Europe, as the proof. But unfortunately a majority of the Ame- 
rican people honestly believed, that Napoleon was "the man of 
destiny" sent to liberate the world from political slavery; and so 



328 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

some of Mr. Jefferson's admirers still maintain. In this warfare 
the Jeffersonians had the advantage, because they could make 
the majority believe as they thought best. The right and the 
wrong is now transferred to the tribunal of history ; so let it go ; 
but do not let the citizens of this day slide into despotism from 
the example and precepts of former times. 



LETTER LIX. 

December 10, 1833. 

Nothing will better illustrate the sincerity of Mr. Madison's 
devotion to his party, than his twin effort in March, 1812, to in- 
flame the excitement against England and his fellow-citizens. at 
Boston. It is amusing, that Mr. Madison should have paid an 
ingenious Irishman fifty thousand dollars, for an attempt to render 
a service to the object of his hatred, England ; still more amus- 
ing, that all he got for his money was a faithful picture of Jeffer- 
son and himself, drawn by a British painter. 

On the 9th of March, 1812, Mr. Madison sent a message to 
Congress, in which he says : " I lay before Congress copies of 
certain documents, which remain in the department of state. 
They prove, that at a recent period, whilst the United States, 
notwithstanding the wrongs sustained by them, ceased not to 
observe the laws of peace and neutrality towards Great Britain, 
and in the midst of amicable professions and negotiations on the 
part of the British government through its public minister here, 
a secret agent of that government was employed, in certain states, 
more especially at the seat of government in Massachusetts, in fo- 
menting disaffection to the constituted authorities of the nation ; 
and in intrigues with the disaffected, for the purpose of bringing 
about resistance to the laws, and eventually, in concert with a 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 329 

British force, of destroying the Union, and forming the eastern 
part thereof into apolitical connection with Great Britain" 

It was said and believed, at the time of the publication of the 
documents which accompanied this message, that the naturalized 
citizen of the United States (John Henry) outwitted Mr. Madison ; 
that he did not disclose these documents until he had received 
fifty thousand dollars, which Mr. Madison took out of the secret 
service fund ; and that forthwith, on the receipt of the money, 
Henry decamped and took passage for Europe to enjoy his easily 
acquired fortune. It seems, that he had tried to get money and 
office from the Governor of Canada, and also from the ministry in 
England without success ; and that failing in these efforts, he 
made Mr. Madison pay him very handsomely — for what? Giving 
a very just and true account of the distress and well-grounded 
dissatisfaction, which all well-informed constitutional citizens 
felt, under the misrule of the two popular Presidents. 

Whether the British ministry knew, or connived at the mission 
of Henry by the Governor of Canada, is of no importance. It 
appears from Henry's showing, that they did not. The British 
minister, then at Washington, disavowed all knowledge of his 
government, that Henry was so employed. Mr. Madison had 
two objects in sending Henry's dearly purchased papers to Con- 
gress. 1. To inflame the hatred against Great Britain with his 
own party. 2. To make the federalists, "at the seat of govern- 
ment in Massachusetts" appear to be traitors. Unfortunately for 
Mr. Madison, neither of these effects was produced. It was at 
once discerned from the correspondence, that Henry had done no 
more than to speculate on the character and views of parties, 
much to the disadvantage of Mr. Madison's party ; and that he 
had never disclosed to any man in New England that he was a 
missionary. It w T as also discerned, at once, that he was earning 
money or office, and consequently made the most of his materials. 
The most ridiculous part of the affair was, the sending of these 
papers to Congress who could do nothing with them. They 
were, in compliment to Mr. Madison, and to make some show of 

28* 



330 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

money's worth, committed with power to send for persons and 
papers. There was nobody to send for but a French count, who 
was supposed to have counselled Henry in his ingenious con- 
trivance. The committee reported, that, as Henry had not 
named any traitor, they could do nothing. There are many per- 
sons that remember John Henry, and that he was in Boston in 
1809. But no one ever heard it suggested that he was a British 
agent. He was said to be engaged in some sort of land specu- 
lation ; but very few knew or cared how he was employed. He 
was a handsome, well-behaved man, and was received in some 
respectable families. 

The principal value of John Henry's papers is, that Mr. Madi- 
son has filed in the office of Secretary of State a true account of 
his own administration, and a delineation of himself, to which 
none of the traitors at the seat of government in Massachusetts 
will object, since Mr. Madison has been pleased to pay for, adopt 
and file among the archives the truth on these points, verified by 
Mr. Madison's own witness. The following are extracts from 
Henry's letters to the Governor of Canada. " On the subject of 
the embargo laws there seems to be but one opinion : That they 
are unnecessary, oppressive and unconstitutional. It must also 
be observed, that the execution of them is so invidious, as to 
attract towards the officers of government the enmity of the peo- 
ple, which is, of course, transferable to the government itself." 
"The embargo is the favorite measure; and it is probable, that 
some other measure will be adopted to excite England to commit 
some act of hostility." "They will risk anything but the loss of 
power ; and they are well aware, that their power would pass 
away with the first calamity, which their measures might bring 
upon the common people." "Although it is believed, that there 
is no probability of an immediate war, yet no doubts are enter- 
tained, that Mr. Madison will fall upon some new expedient, to 
bring about hostilities." "The past administration in every 
transaction presents to the mind only a muddy commixture of 
folly, weakness and duplicity." "But the observations made 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 331 

on his (Mr. Madison's) friendly dispositions towards Great Britain, 
is a matter of no little astonishment. The whole tenor of his 
political life directly and unequivocally contradicts them. His 
speech on the British treaty in 1799 ['96?]; his attempts to pass 
a law for the confiscation of British debts and British property ; 
his commercial resolutions, grounded apparently on an idea of 
making America useful, as a colony of France ;* his conduct 
while Secretary of State, all form an assemblage of probabilities, 
tending to convince me at least, that he does not seriously desire 
a treaty in which the rights and pretensions of Great Britain 
would be fairly recognized. It seems impossible, that he should 
at once divest himself of that habitual animosity and that pride 
of opinion, which his present situation enables him to indulge ; 
but above all, that he should deprive his friends and supporters of 
the benefit of those prejudices, which have been carefully fostered 
in the minds of the common people against England, and which 
have so materially contributed to invigorate and augment the 
democratic party." 

It is improbable that John Henry exhibited such sketches of 
Mr. Madison to him before the money vms paid. After it was 
paid, and Mr. Madison had examined his purchase, as the sum 
was considerable, it would be expended without value, if these 
papers were merely deposited in the Secretary's office. Perhaps 
it was not much otherwise, in attempting to make them significant 
by the solemnity of message, which might strengthen "those 
prejudices which had been carefully fostered in the minds of the 
common people against England ;" and at the same time make 
one portion of the people distrust and hate another still more 
cordially. Whatever these documents were really worth, there 
they are "remaining in the department of state," deposited by 
Mr. Madison's own hand, as a memorial of his good sense and 
patriotism. Perhaps they did help to increase the animosity which 
prevailed between the parties, and to promote the reign of terror, 
which came with the war. 

* Founded on Mr. Jefferson's report when Secretary of State. 



332 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

These documents were sent on by a member of Congress of 
this vicinity, who had the honor of being one of the six in the 
committee of foreign relations who reported the war manifesto to 
the House, in the following month of June. They arrived here 
in the morning of one day, and the press was put in motion to 
multiply them and have them in readiness to come forth, and 
confound the Yankee traitors on the morning of the next day. 
The secret was not well kept. It reached the ears of one person 
with sufficient distinctness to make its general purpose understood. 
He sat down and wrote a refutation, to appear also on the next 
morning. It came out simultaneously with the documents, and 
was so triumphantly successful, as to take from Mr. Madison's 
barb all its venom — and all its force. The public were left only 
to wonder at the disposition with w r hich it was thrown, and at the 
feebleness of the arm which threw 7 it. (See the Commercial 
Gazette, of March, 1812.) 

It is painful to believe that so eminent a man as Mr. Madi- 
son has exposed himself to the suspicion of having intended to 
prevent the election of a federalist to the office of governor in 
Massachusetts, and to secure the election of one of his political 
friends; and of having used his own official pow T er to this end. 
Whether this be a well-grounded suspicion, or not, may depend 
on the impression which the following facts may make. 

John Henry arrived from England at Boston, December 23, 
1811. He visited Governor Gerry, who gave him a letter of in- 
troduction to Mr. Madison, in which he says, that Henry's "pro- 
fessional, literary, and polite accomplishments have been much 
respected by all his acquaintance." This letter bears date January 
11, 1812. Henry arrived at Washington January 31st, and kept 
within his lodgings in the day time, and made his visits in the 
evening. He left Washington February 11th. On the 10th of 
February, fifty thousand dollars were drawn from the treasury, in 
the name of John Graham, chief clerk in the office of Secretary 
of State. On the 11th of February, Henry arrived at Baltimore, 
and is said to have negotiated there an order of the Bank of 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 333 

Columbia at Washington in his favor, on the Mechanics' Bank of 
New York, for forty-eight thousand dollars. Henry sailed from 
New York (or some other port) for France on the ninth of March, 
in the United States sloop of war Wasp. 

It is a curious fact, that Henry had been at Washington, had 
got his money, and had returned northwardly, and was at Balti- 
more on the 11th of February, and that his letter of disclosure to 
James Monroe, Secretary of State, is dated the 20th of that month, 
at Philadelphia. It is remarkable, that Mr. Madison had these 
disclosures at least twenty-five days before he made them known 
to Congress; that when he did so make them known, Henry was 
actually under sail for France, and consequently could not be 
called on for any explanation. From the date of Mr. Madison's 
message to Congress to the election day in Massachusetts was 
twenty-eight days. It might take eight days to get the news to Con- 
gress, and through their agency to Massachusetts, and the remain- 
ing twenty days was about a convenient measure of time to 
disseminate it, and make it known to all those who might thereby 
be influenced to vote for Elbridge Gerry, instead of Caleb Strong. 

Now it is not intended to say, that the President of the United 
States, (knowing as well before he sent his message as afterwards, 
that Congress could do nothing with it,) did hope to influence the 
state election. Yet, as he was then meditating a war message ; 
as it was a material thing to him, whether Gerry or Strong was 
governor of Massachusetts during a war ; and as he might have 
sent his message of disclosure at least twenty days sooner than 
h,e did, readers will judge, whether there be, or not, grounds for 
suspecting, that the time was chosen for the disclosure. If such 
was the intention, it met the defeat which it well deserved. Gerry 
was not elected. 



334 FAMILIAR LETTERS 



LETTER LX. 

December 15, 1833. 

Mr. Madison's war message was passed to the committee of 
foreign relations in the House, a majority of which, viz., John 
Calhoun, S. C. ; Felix Grundy, Tenn. ; John Smilie, Penn. ; 
John A. Harper, N. H. ; Joseph Desha, Ken. ; and Ebenezer 
Seaver, Mass., agreed upon and reported a manifesto, as the basis 
of a declaration of war. If these gentlemen had not been under 
the high excitement arising under Jeffersonian influence, how 
could they have thought it to be dutiful and patriotic to recom- 
mend an offensive war, in the then state of Europe, and especially of 
their own country ? The manifesto sets forth the old grievances 
of blockades, orders in council, and impressments, all of them 
measures affecting the commercial part of the nation. Three- 
fourths at least of this part were to be found north of the Dela- 
ware. The act declaring war was dated the 18th of June, 1812. 
If the causes of war were such as to warrant this declaration, it 
might be expected, that those who were in favor of it would be 
found to be residents north of the Delaware. This was not so ; 
on the contrary, the planters and lawyers of the south and of the 
west, and others from those quarters knew better, than northern 
citizens, what measures were necessary to protect their property 
and to vindicate their rights. 

In the House of Representatives the whole number of members 
was 128 ; of these 79 voted for the war ; and of these (79) 62 
resided south, and 17 north of the Delaware. The Senate con- 
sisted of 32 members, 19 of whom voted for the war, and 14 of 
these resided south of the Delaware; and 5 of the 19 north. 
Putting together the war members of both branches residing 
south of the Delaware, viz., 62 and 14, they make 76; which is 
four short of half of the whole number in both branches. Thus 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 335 

the war may be said to have been a measure of the south and 
west, to take care of the interests of the north, much against the 
will of the latter. The whole number of members in both 
branches residing north of the Delaware was 68, of whom only 
21 voted for the war. 

There is some ground for the opinion, that a portion of those 
members, who voted for the war in both branches, did so, because 
circumstances forced them to express an assent contrary to their 
own convictions of duty. In truth, the Jeffersonian party had 
created an excitement which the leaders could not control. 
There is one man now living, who has long been a tenant of a 
seat in the capitol, who can tell, if he would, with what extreme 
and foreboding reluctance he voted for the war, as the least of 
the appalling evils which haunted his mind and even his dreams. 

The probability is, that the members from the west expected 
benefits from the war, which may have shut out all perceptions of 
expediency. They may have believed that their own regions 
would be the scenes of activity, enterprise and acquisition ; and 
they may have been careless of consequences to the seaboard, 
leaving that to defend itself as it could. Our southern and west- 
ern brethren saw fit to make the "experiment." Does any por- 
tion of them desire to see another of the same kind ? It is not 
intended to cast any reproach on those who proposed or assented 
to the war ; but to show what the perils of the country must 
always be, when the government of it is submitted to party men. 
The tyranny of party among its own members, is as inexorable 
and vindictive, as any which it exercises against its adversaries. 
Consider the state of the Representatives of the nation at this 
moment. What prevents the House of Representatives from 
doing what a large majority of them in their consciences believe 
ought to be done for the relief of the country ? Are they not 
sensible men ? Are they not the sincere friends of their constitu- 
ents? Are they not desirous that their fellow-citizens should en- 
joy all the benefits of industry, and all the means of independ- 
ence and happiness? Undoubtedly. Are they, then, fascinated 



336 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

by the intelligence, the virtues and the public services of An- 
drew Jackson 9 Not at all. They probably think him a very 
unfit man for his station. By what spell, then, are they bound ? 
By that all-powerful one which Mr. Jefferson created. They are 
party men. Those, also, were party men who laid the em- 
bargo and voted for war. The denunciations of their own par- 
tisans is more to be dreaded, than the dereliction of duty, and the 
reproaches and contempt of their own constituents. It was the 
same spirit in another form, which carried the arms of France 
throughout the continent of Europe, and occasioned the horrible 
scenes which disgraced the last ten years of the last century. 
The members of selfish parties may, and often do hate each other, 
as men, most sincerely. There may be such instances in certain 
honorable assemblies of the present day. But this does not im- 
pair fidelity in the common cause. Thus, it requires far greater 
magnanimity than can ever be expected from party men, to do 
what they know to be right; and to abstain from what they know 
to be wrong. The great leaders of the party in power now, had 
rather see the whole country as desolate as a territory in Asia 
after an army of locusts have encamped upon it, than to yield a 
single point of party. The corrective lies with the people ; they 
can set this matter right, and no other earthly power can. 



LETTER LXI. 

Jancart 2, 1834. 

The friends of peace resisted the declaration of war in Congress, 
with reason, good sense, faithful love of country, and serious elo- 
quence ; but such weapons were powerless against the infatuation 

of PARTY. 

They said, that neither the government nor the people were 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 337 

prepared for war; that the removal of restrictions had induced the 
commercial part of our citizens to engage extensively in ship- 
ments, and that many millions, not insured against war risks, 
would fall into the hands of the enemy. They insisted, that the 
nation was destitute of all means of annoying the enemy on the 
ocean ; and that the whole effective force of the United States 
(independently of militia) was incompetent to defend any one of 
our seaports and cities. That an army could not be made in a 
day ; that, if the materials had been gathered, the officers and 
soldiers must undergo a course of discipline and camp experience, 
which the war-worn of Europe had declared could not be effected 
in less time than a year. They insisted not only that the country 
was utterly destitute of means to coerce an enemy, but equally 
so of means of defence, if the enemy should become the assail- 
ants. 

They urged that impressment was not a cause of war; first, 
because war would not settle the right ; and secondly, because 
Great Britain had always been willing to negotiate. That all 
other subjects of controversy had passed away, but the orders 
in council. That whether England had, or had not a right to 
pass retaliatory orders, it was well known that these orders would 
be rescinded as soon as France had annulled her decrees. That 
the administration had asserted what no rational being in the 
nation believed but themselves, viz., that these decrees were 
repealed. They further insisted, that the present time was pre- 
cisely that in which a war should not be begun. They described 
the state of Europe as one which, if there were no other reason, 
demanded delay. But this was not the most cogent reason. The 
government could not carry on a war without money. It had no 
dependence but on commercial revenue. War would greatly 
diminish, if not annihilate this. Loans, taxes, militia service 
must be resorted to. Soon the enemy would be on our coasts, 
and, defenceless as they were and would continue to be, a com- 
paratively small force could keep two thousand miles of seaboard 
in continual, harassing and costly alarm. 
29 



338 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

If the object was the conquest of British provinces, there were 
no means prepared to this end ; none which could be prepared, 
before the whole force that could be organized would be required 
for the sole purpose of defence along our own shores. 

The friends of peace further urged upon the war party, that, if 
their purpose was the conquest of Canada, it was impracticable, 
and worse than worthless, if it could be accomplished. It is 
worth while to transcribe the opinion of that erratic administra- 
tion-man, John Randolph, who was sometimes very right in his 
views, whatever may be said of him at others. What he said in 
1806, in committee of the whole, was as true in 1812, as then. 

"There are three points to be considered: 1. Our ability to 
contend with Great Britain. 2. The policy of such contest. 3. 
Conceding both these points, then the manner in which we can, 
with the greatest effect, retort upon and annoy our adversary. 

"Now the gentleman from Massachusetts has settled, at a 
single sweep, not only that we are capable of contending with 
Great Britain on the ocean, but that we are actually her superior! 
Whence does the gentleman deduce this inference ? Because 
truly, at that time, when Great Britain was not mistress of the 
ocean, when a North was her prime-minister and a Sandwich the 
first lord of her admiralty ; when she was governed by a count- 
ing-house administration ; privateers of this country trespassed 
on her commerce. So, too, did the cruisers of Dunkirk. At that 
day Suffrein held the mastery of the Indian seas. But what is 
the case now ? Do gentlemen remember the capture of Corn- 
wallis on land, because De Grasse maintained the dominion of 
the ocean ? To my mind no position is more clear, than, if we 
go to war with Great Britain, Charleston, Boston, the Chesapeake 
and the Hudson will be invested with British squadrons. Will 
you call on the Count De Grasse to relieve them, or shall we 
apply to the Admiral Gravina, or Admiral Villeneuve, to raise the 
blockade ? But you have not only a prospect of gathering glory, 
and what seems to the gentleman of Massachusets much dearer, 
profit, by privateering ; but you will be able to make a conquest 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 339 

of Canada and Nova Scotia. Indeed ? Then, sir, we shall catch 
a Tartar. I have no desire to see the Senators arid Representa- 
tives of the Canadian French, or of the tories and refugees of 
Nova Scotia, sitting on this floor, or that of the other House ; to 
see them becoming members of the Union and participating in 
our political rights. And on what other principle would the 
gentleman from Massachusetts be for incorporating these pro- 
vinces with us ? Or, on what other principle could it be done, 
under the constitution? If the gentleman has no other bounty to 
offer us for going to war, than the incorporation of Canada and 
Nova Scotia, I am for remaining at' peace." 

Every one of the predictions of the friends of peace was sadly 
fulfilled ; and greater evils than they foretold were experienced 
by this misgoverned country. 

It is worth while to look at Europe, to judge of the time which 
Mr. Madison selected to go to war with England. 

Napoleon had reduced the whole of Europe to his absolute 
dominion, or to a state of dependence little short of it, as far 
eastwardly and northwardly as the confines of Turkey and Rus- 
sia. There was still, in some parts of Europe, the show of inde- 
pendent powers, but it was nothing more. He had placed three 
of his brothers on thrones ; one in Spain, one in Holland, one in 
Westphalia. One of his generals, Murat, was king of Naples 
and husband of his sister. He had first beaten the Emperor of 
Austria, and then divorced Josephine to marry the emperor's 
daughter. He was King of Rome, until he gave that title to his 
infant son. A French general was on the throne of Sweden, and 
had entered into the continental system. Russia alone stood out 
and continued her commerce, so far as French privateers would 
permit, through the Baltic. It is a curious fact, that Archangel, 
in north latitude sixty-four, on the shores of the White Sea, was, 
in this derangement of Europe by Napoleon, the principal port 
of entry for all English and American merchandize, which could 
find its way into the continent. A considerable amount of Ameri- 



340 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

can property was burnt at Moscow, when that city was destroyed, 
after Napoleon had taken possession of it. 

England had resisted this terrible aggrandizement. She had 
her thousand ships, and had made herself the mistress of the 
seas. Her maritime force had no enemy to contend with • she 
had driven everything that dared to show a hostile flag, from the 
ocean ; excepting, that sometimes a French squadron would steal 
a flight along the waves, to shun English ships and burn those 
of Americans. 

It was under such circumstances that Mr. Madison chose, for 
this commercial nation, England for an enemy, and Napoleon for 
an ally! As the federalists dared to denounce this abominable 
policy, they were in fact included, though not expressly named, 
in his manifesto of war. 



LETTER LXII. 

January 7, 1834. 

It is remarkable, that on the 24th day of June, 1812, hostilities 
commenced between Napoleon and Russia, and that on the 18th 
of the same month, war was declared by the United States 
against England. During the spring of that year, Napoleon had 
been preparing for this war, because Russia did not interdict the 
merchandize of Great Britain. Having assembled his forces, he 
departed on the 9th of May from his palace of St. Cloud to prose- 
cute his enterprise. It is also remarkable, that no change had 
occurred in the negotiations with England, which should have 
induced a declaration of war in the month of June, 1812, rather 
than at any other time within several preceding months. It was 
said and believed, that the embargo was known in France to be 
an intended measure, while it was not suspected in the United 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 341 

States ; and it is certain, that war was known in France to be 
determined on, although no rational man in the United States 
supposed that thff administration would have the hardihood to 
propose it. Was there, or not, a secret understanding or agree- 
ment between the French and American governments, that, as 
soon as France was ready to attack the only power in Europe 
which had not bound itself to maintain the "continental system," 
the United States should declare war against England ? Notwith- 
standing Mr. Madison assigned the old causes for the war, he 
lies under the very serious imputation of having had other causes 
at heart ; nothing short of having unnecessarily and wantonly 
engaged his own country in war, for the mere purpose of aiding 
Napoleon to prostrate his enemy. However this matter may have 
been guarded from the perception of his fellow-citizens, if the 
fact was so, Mr. Madison's integrity and fidelity will be severely 
tried by impartial history. In truth, there was nothing to gain 
by war, which negotiation would not have gained ; and the treaty 
of peace settled no one of the controverted points. 

The first event, after the declaration of war, that attracted the 
public attention, was the address of the minority of the House of 
Representatives. A more rational, interesting and dignified 
paper has not appeared since the institution of the government. 
In manner, it is much superior to the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. This paper sets forth the state of the country at that time, 
the course adopted to obtain the presence and purposes of the 
war ; it is an insulated paper, and not easily to be found ; but it 
is due to its writer and signers, that it should be kept in memory. 

The declaration of war, though feared, was so serious and 
shocking to a large portion of the community, that it could only 
be likened to the distressing certainty of affliction to surrounding 
relatives, when death has thrown his dart at some lingering victim. 
While life remains, there is still some vague and undefined hope; 
— and while war was not declared, there was yet a sentiment, 
that a calamity so unnecessary, so oppressive, and so ruinous, 
would not be forced upon the country. 

29* 



342 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

It should be remembered, that the seaboard had not been fortified ; 
the navy had not been augmented; the army had not yet been 
increased; nothing had been done to fill the treasury — the whole 
country was on a peace establishment. Within the first month of the 
war, an unconstitutional demand was made on the governors of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut for militia, even before the news 
of this astonishing measure could have reached the British Isles, 
and three months before there was the slightest probability that 
the United States could be invaded. This demand proved to be 
in prosecution of the design to invade and conquer Canada with 
militia ! If every subject and soldier in Canada had been will- 
ing that the militia should take quiet possession of that country, 
what good would this have done to the people of the United 
States ? During this profitless conflict, the attempt at conquest 
was continued, but without advancing a dozen miles into that ter- 
ritory at any time ; while, on the other hand, the British became 
invaders ; but, as should be, were driven within their own lines 
on this frontier. 

The military and naval character of the war it is not the present 
purpose to describe. All this went on like other wars, with the 
exception that it soon became defensive on our part.* Mr. Madi- 

* In what manner that philosophical philanthropist, Thomas Jefferson, desired to 
have the war carried on, appears from the following extract. 

Jefferson writes to Monroe, January 1,1815, vol. iv. p. 245: "But however 
these two difficulties of men and money may be disposed of, it is fortunate that 
neither of them will affect our war by sea. Privateers will find their own men and 
money. Let nothing be spared to encourage them. They are the dagger which 
strikes at the heart of the enemy, their commerce. Frigates and seventy-fours are a 
sacrifice we must make, heavy as it is, to the prejudices of a part of our citizens. 
They have, indeed, rendered a great moral service, which has delighted me as much 
as any one in the United States. But they have had no physical effect, sensible to 
the enemy; and now while we must fortify them in our harbors, and keep armies 
to defend them, our privateers are bearding and blockading the enemy in their own 
ports." (Who but Thomas Jefferson knew this fact?) " Encourage them to bum 
nil their prizes, and let the public pay for them. They will cheat us enormously. 
No matter; they will make the merchants of England feel, and squeal, and cry out 
for peace." 

f3T This is the wise and moral Mr. Jefferson ! None but pirates burn ships at sea. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 343 

son's ally, Napoleon, found a more powerful and determined 
enemy than he expected; and another enemy, little expected and 
not at all provided for, even by this far-sighted chief. Every- 
body knows that the burning of Moscow and the bitterness of 
the winter annihilated the hosts of the Emperor, and that he 
hurried home to repair his disasters, but found his way to Elba. 
The fall of Napoleon was also the fall of Mr. Madison. The 
peace of Europe, in the spring of 1814, left England at leisure 
to attend to the enemy who had sought to overwhelm her in her 
deepest distress. The war had assumed a ferocious character, 
little creditable to either of the parties, according to the rules of 
modern warfare. The burning of public buildings, and of private 
dwellings, is unworthy of modern military strife. These are 
matters within every one's reach, who does not, but desires to 
know them. The purpose now in view is, to notice the character 
of the times, which history will not notice. 

If any one desires to see the best vindication, which appeared, 
of the conduct of the administration in the war, he will find it in 
an elaborate production, entitled "An Exposition of the Causes 
and Character of the late War." This was dated February 10, 
1815, and was attributed to Mr. Dallas, then Secretary of the 
Treasury. 

Independently of the vassalage of party, a small proportion of 
the citizens of New England approved of the war. Public opinion 
soon began to manifest itself in popular meetings. Resolutions 
were passed, expressing in decided terms the feelings of a free, 
intelligent and indignant people. Conventions were held in the 
different counties, not by any concert, but spontaneously. That 
at Northampton, at which fifty-six towns were represented, at- 
tracted particular attention. A preamble and resolutions were 
there adopted, prepared with great ability and genuine patriotic 
spirit. In the county of Worcester a convention was held, in 
like spirit, and remarkable for a pointed paraphrase of the de- 
claration of independence. 

On the 15th of July, a great meeting was held at Faneuil Hall, 



344 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

and resolutions were then adopted, well worthy of the place and 
of the occasion. Among others who were heard at this time was 
Daniel Sargent, a distinguished merchant, who disclosed the 
fatal consequences to commercial interests, and to all classes who 
are connected with and dependent on them. Josiah Quincy, just 
then returned from Congress, made known to his auditors, with 
his accustomed fervor and eloquence, the scenes which he had 
witnessed, and the true character and designs of the administra- 
tion. He was followed by Harrison Gray Otis, then in the full 
vigor of manhood, as to whom, with all the abatement which 
should be made for the high excitement of the times, this descrip- 
tion of his feelings and expressions, (as published then,) is not too 
highly colored. 

" It is unnecessary to say more, than that he renewed, with his 
pathetic and glowing eloquence, that enthusiasm which has been 
so often excited in the breasts of his fellow-citizens, by his patri- 
otic and masterly speeches : orations they should be called ; for, 
like Demosthenes, rousing the Athenians to watchfulness against 
Philip, his addresses have awakened the citizens of Boston to a 
virtuous jealousy of the intrigues of France, and of those who 
are co-operating with her ruler, to destroy the liberties and happi- 
ness of mankind." 

Such reception of the war in New England was highly dis- 
pleasing to Mr. Madison and to his political party. To his mind 
it was conclusive evidence, that the land of the pilgrims w r as sold 
to the enemy ; and that the war was as necessary against its 
inhabitants, as against the government, fleets and armies of Great 
Britain. But the descendants of the pilgrims had sold neither 
their land, their opinions, nor their consciences. How it is now, 
in some portion of the New England states, is not so certain. It 
may be that the press, the post-offices, and "the standing army 
of forty thousand"* may have deluded some of our fello,w-citi- 

* In a speech in the Senate, Mr. Clay estimated the number of devoted partisans 
in office, in the United States, and who, from the mere tenure of office, are pledged 
to sustain "the government," (as President Jackson calls himself) in all it has done, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 345 

zens ; and may control a majority in more states than one. But 
this will not last long. The people of New England are sensible 
and discerning. The day is at hand, when they will do justice 
to themselves, and to those who have cheated and defrauded them, 
to advance their own power and to increase their o^n riches. In 
the day of adversity, this people consider; and no people are 
better qualified than themselves to understand cause and effect, 
when they do consider. 



LETTER LXIII. 

January 9, 1S34. 
All citizens now alive, who were old enough to know the cha- 
racter of the war in relation to the opponents of the administra- 
tion, remember, and will remember while they live, that they 
were identified with the chosen and public enemy of the United 
States. They were charged with adhering to and giving aid and 
assistance to the enemy ; with treason, and with the design to re- 
establish the dominion of Great Britain in their native land ! 
What was the evidence ? Opposition to Mr. Madison ! Oppo- 
sition for the reasons, and none other, which are contained in the 
address of the minority of Congress to their constituents. Terror 
sealed the lips of thousands mfree America, concerning the con- 
duct and motives of their own elected rulers. If the burning of 
Moscow and the freezing of Napoleon's hosts had not happened, 
it is not hazardous to assert, that the press and the tongue would 
have been used in the United States for no other public purpose, 
than to subserve, applaud and honor Jefferson, Madison, and 

is doing, means to do, or can do, at "forty thousand.'' He properly calls them a 
standing army, since they command more opinions and votes, than forty thousand 
bayonets could. 



346 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

their adherents. What would have prevented military exe- 
cutions, the action of the guillotine, and the confiscation of the 
fortunes of traitors ? Nothing but the native spirit of New Eng- 
land could have prevented it ; the spirit that descended from the 
pilgrim fathe^. As soon as the horrible transactions, which oc- 
curred in Baltimore in the last ten days of July, were known in 
Boston, the proper spirit of the citizens was manifested. In that 
city there was an undue proportion of " oppressed humanity," 
which had sought " an asylum" there; and they became most 
effective allies in Madison's war. A meeting was held at Fan- 
euil Hall on the 6th of August, and resolutions were passed, 
among which was the following: "Resolved, that we are alarmed, 
astonished and confounded, to find that a paper published at the 
seat of government, and which is understood, on some occasions, 
to be its organ, not only led the way to these scenes of confusion, 
but has impliedly approved and justified them ; and that while 
no mention is made of this late horrible massacre, in which the 
blood of our oldest revolutionary officers flowed in the streets, a 
severe commentary was issued in that paper against a republican 
magistrate of New York, because he expressed his abhorrence of 
mobs. We will not admit the conclusion, which these facts 
would seem to warrant, that these mobs are not discountenanced 
by the Executive of the United States. We would rather con- 
sider them as of French origin, and the first fruits of that unna- 
tural and dreadful alliance, into which we have entered in fact, 
if not in form." 

The citizens of Boston took very effective measures that no 
such "fruits" should be known among them ; whether any such 
were intended or not. There is no reason to suppose, that these 
citizens will, at any future time, be regardless of their duties, 
either to their country or to themselves. 

The principal object of the disgraceful scenes at Baltimore, 
was to silence the Federal Republican, a paper edited by Alexan- 
der Hanson, who was afterwards member of Congress. The 
same General Lee, who was the Governor of Virginia and the 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 347 

congressional eulogist of Washington, carried the effects of that 
assault to his grave years afterwards. It was seen with indignant 
astonishment, that no reprobation of such measures came, directly 
or indirectly, from Mr. Madison. It was believed that he did not 
disapprove of them. If rumors are entitled to credit, he was 
given to understand, that if any such scenes occurred in the city 
of Washington, he would be held responsible in his own person. 

These are no fictions, but realities, as thousands now living can 
testify. Did Mr. Madison mean to break through all constitutional 
restraints, and establish himself as a tyrant over his fellow-citizens? 
Not at all. Mr. Madison was acting, as he believed, constitution- 
ally and as a patriot. It was constitutional and patriotic to an- 
nihilate the natural and determined enemy of France ; and to 
silence and make odious every citizen who dared to say it was 
not so. Mr. Madison is not to be charged with tyranny, nor with 
disregarding the constitution and laws ; but he is to be held up 
as an example, and a terrible one, too, of what party may do in 
a republic, when a ruler believes that the people, (as he calls 
them,) will sustain him. Mr. Madison has been long enough at 
leisure, to review his political career again and again ; long 
enough for the mists of party to clear away from before his vis- 
ion ; long enough to know, if he looks out upon the world, how 
some of his opponents lived, and what their countrymen did in 
honor of their fame ; and how those who yet live are esteemed, 
whom he called traitors and enemies of his country. 

The conscientious opponents of the national administration had 
reason to apprehend, and did believe, that opposition was to be 
silenced by violence and terror ; that they were, by such means, 
to be deprived of the right of judging for themselves, of the wis- 
dom, fidelity and purposes of their own trustees and public serv- 
ants. They felt, that the power, which had been created for the 
security of life, person and property, was to be used to make all 
these objects secondary to the will of a dominant faction. They 
found it necessary to combine, to obtain that protection which 
their rulers seemed voluntarily to have withdrawn. 



348 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

For such reasons, and none other, they associated themselves 
under the name of Washington Benevolent Societies throughout 
the state. They had regular meetings ; quarterly addresses ; and 
annual orations. The members of this society in Boston were of 
all the various classes. The different vocations among the me- 
chanics had their respective banners, bearing appropriate em- 
blems of their callings ; there were other banners which bore the 
insignia of peace, union, fidelity and patriotism. In the annual 
processions these banners were carried through the streets. These 
societies were not like Jacobin clubs, or " secret societies," as 
Washington called them, instituted to overawe the government in 
the exercise of its powers ; but to maintain the rights of free and 
independent citizens. Not a sentiment was ever expressed in 
these societies, inconsistent with the allegiance due to the consti- 
tution and to the Union. On the contrary, there is no doubt, that 
they tended to preserve that allegiance, to preserve the Union, 
and sustain the community through its discouraging oppressions. 
The frowns and attempts of the war party to make these societies 
objects of suspicion, and to render them odious, served only to 
strengthen them, and convince their members of their utility and 
necessity. If the day shall ever come, when the like perils shall 
overtake the good citizens of the United States, let them remem- 
ber this example. When the causes which produced these com- 
binations ceased, these also ceased ; but their banners are still 
preserved ; and are occasionally produced to decorate the " cradle 
of liberty." 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 349 



LETTER LXIV. 

Jancart 13, 1834. 

In the course of the summer of 1812, there was some reason 
to hope, that Mr. Madison had become sufficiently unpopular by 
his war measures, to lose a re-election. De Witt Clinton was 
then a person of some distinction in the state of New York. He 
had expressed his detestation of mobocracy, and had been repri- 
manded for it in a government paper. Although he had been 
ranked with the JefTersonian school, yet, as he had indicated his 
dissatisfaction with the policy of Mr. Madison, it was hoped that 
he might be elected President. Any man that could have been 
elected, would have been thought by the federalists preferable to 
Mr. Madison. This party were willing to combine with any por- 
tion of the citizens, who were willing to withdraw from the sup- 
port of that gentleman. They felt that any change must be for 
the better. 

Measures were taken to hold a convention in the city of New 
York, in the month of September, 1812. No convention was ever 
assembled from more pure and patriotic motives, nor any, whose 
members were more worthy and respectable, as men and citizens. 
Many of them had filled exalted stations, and were afterwards 
honored with high confidence by their fellow-citizens and by exe- 
cutive appointment. If this page should ever fall under the eye 
of any surviving member of that assembly, it may remind him of 
the solemnity and dignity of the proceedings then had ; he can 
answer for himself for the purity and patriotism of his own mo- 
tives ; he will remember the fervent eloquence there displayed ; 
and the dreadful apprehensions then entertained for the fate of his 
country. 

This convention continued three days. It resolved on support- 
ing De Witt Clinton, as the best chance of defeating Mr. Madi- 
30 



350 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

son's election. This measure was adopted with reluctance by 
some who were present. They could not overcome the repug- 
nance which they felt to supporting Mr. Clinton ; there were 
others who feared that he had not strength and popularity enough 
in his own state to be successful. A large majority of the con- 
vention, however, determined on making the proper effort to elect 
him. All the New England States, (except Vermont,) New York, 
New Jersey, Delaware, Tennessee and Louisiana voted for Mr. 
Clinton, and five votes out of eleven in Maryland, were given for 
him ; eighty-nine in all. Mr. Madison had one hundred and 
twenty-eight ; making a difference of thirty-nine. But the Penn- 
sylvania votes (twenty-one in number) having been rejected, the 
majority was reduced to eighteen. It is supposed, that with a 
better management, and with a candidate more attractive than 
Mr. Clinton may have been, Mr. Madison's election might have 
been defeated. Under almost any other President the war would 
have been much shortened ; and the people of the United States 
might have escaped a portion of their distress, and have saved 
many millions, expended almost for the only purpose of producing 
it.* 

* In connection with this convention, I cannot forbear recording an anecdote of 
the eloquence exhibited on the occasion, by the Hon. Harrison Gray Otis, although 
that gentleman is among the honored few, who still live to rejoice, that many of 
their worst fears have not been realized, with regard to this country and her insti- 
tutions. This anecdote was related by my father, the author of these letters, and I 
shall repeat it in his own words, as near as I can recall them. 

"Soon after the war had been declared, I chanced to be at Saratoga Springs, 
where I met with the Hon. Calvin Goddard, of Norwich, Connecticut, and with 
Hon. Jon. Dwight, of Springfield, Mass. Gov. Griswold, of Conn., was also at the 
hotel, but confined to his chamber. It was the habit of these two gentlemen and 
myself, to pay the Governor a daily visit; and when he announced himself too ill 
to receive us, we strolled into the neighboring woods, to talk over the state of the 
Union, respecting the welfare and durability of which, we entertained serious and 
painful fears. On one of these excursions, it was concluded, that a convention 
should be convened at New York during the following September, at which as 
many states should bo represented as could be induced to send delegates. The 
object of this convention was, to determine upon the expediency of defeating Mr. 
Madison's re-election, by running De Witt Clinton as the opposing candidate for the 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 351 

This convention consisted of seventy members. There were 
from Vermont, two; from New Hampshire, two; from Massachu- 
setts, eight ; from Rhode Island, three ; from New York, eighteen ; 
from Connecticut, six ; from New Jersey, twelve ; from Pennsyl- 
vania, ten ; from Delaware, two; from Maryland, three ; from 
South Carolina, four. 



LETTER LXV. 

January 15, 1834. 

As before remarked, it is not intended to follow out the naval 
and military events of the war. These will be found in history 
already written, which, like other history, delights to show when 
and how mortals have butchered each other. When war exists, 

Presidency. Goddard was intrusted with the state of Connecticut; Dwight with 
New York, and I was to awaken Massachusetts to the importance of this conven- 
tion ; while all three were to assist in arousing the other states. The convention 
met at New York, in September, and eleven states were represented by seventy 
delegates. The convention, during two days, had been unable to come to any de- 
termination, and on the third day were about dissolving without any fixed plan ot 
operation. Hon. Rufus King had pronounced the most impassioned invective 
against Clinton, and was so excited during his address, that his knees trembled 
under him. Gouverneur Morris doubted much the expediency of the measure, and 
was seconded in these doubts by Theod. Sedgwick, as well as by Judge Hopkinson. 
(Now deceased.) Many of the members were desirous of returning to Philadel- 
phia by the steamboat, at 2 o'clock P. M., of the third day. It was approaching the 
hour and nothing had been determined, when Mr. Otis arose, apparently much em- 
barrassed, holding his hat in his hand, and seeming as if he were almosl sorry he 
i i^en. Soon he warmed with bis subject, his hat fell from his hand, and he 
poured forth a strain of eloquence that chained all present to their seats, and when, 
at a late hour, the vote was taken, it was almost unanimously resolved i" support 
Clinton. This effort was unprepared, but only proves how entirely Mr. Otis do- 
serves the reputation he enjoys of being a great orator." 



352 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

those who are to do the fighting are not much concerned with the 
right and the wrong of the matter. Those who originate the 
war, from whatsoever cause, know, that to carry it on and fight 
the battles is resolved into patriotism; and that whoever is opposed 
to it is, of course, a traitor. 

There were disasters, and some reprehensible measures, on the 
part of those to whom the belligerent duties were assigned. But 
there were, also, some brilliant achievements on land and on the 
ocean, and especially on the latter. The navy fought itself into 
credit and renown, at home and abroad ; and has most deservedly 
been, ever since, a favorite with the nation. 

But the war went on heavily, as a whole. The navy was not 
of sufficient magnitude to form a fleet, excepting on the lakes ; 
the regular army had some fine officers, and some who were of 
other descriptions. The rank and file were such, probably, as 
other armies are made up of; but they were new in their occupa- 
tion, and few of them had ever seen a battle when they enlisted. 
The militia were as good as such forces are ever expected to be 
at repelling invasion ; and not better than might be expected in 
the serious employment of conquest. 

Meanwhile the liberation of the experienced soldiery of Eng- 
land, from European contests, permitted them to appear on our 
shores ; and our gallant little navy was incompetent to meet a 
foe on salt water, except sometimes in single ships. 

As was foreseen, the treasury was soon exhausted. Almost 
every form of taxation was resorted to. It soon came to the 
necessity of issuing paper money from the treasury, which was 
called exchequer bills. These rapidly depreciated and fell to 
twenty per cent, below their nominal value. Capitalists would 
not lend money to carry on the war which they considered un- 
necessary and ruinous ; and they were severely reproached be- 
cause they would not. The enemy were now strong enough with 
fleets, to blockade all the great ports of the continent ; and had 
troops enough to harass the whole sea coast, from the British 
Provinces to the Mississippi. That great resource which " the 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 353 

gentleman from Massachusetts" (as Mr. Randolph said) relied 
on, was not found so effectual as had been anticipated. "Priva- 
teering" was not much approved of, and but few engaged in it. 
But few of those who did so engage grew rich from their adven- 
tures. 

Thus, in less than two years, Mr. Madison and his co-patriots 
had reduced this whole country to a state of misery and degrada- 
tion, much resembling that which it experienced at the close of 
the revolutionary war. 

In this state of things, bereft as the administration was of the 
confidence of the country, and absolutely bankrupt in resources, 
a measure was devised to command men, for naval and land ser- 
vice, which is as unconstitutional and as abhorrent to the feelings 
of the citizens, as the condition of our rulers was desperate. Mr. 
Madison directed his Secretary of State, (and Secretary of War 
pro tern, on dismissing incompetent men in that office,) Mr. Mon- 
roe, to propose to Congress a system of impressment, more odious 
than was ever known in England, and a conscription, more shock- 
ing than had ever been experienced in France. It seems to have 
been no objection, in the minds of these gentlemen, that their 
system would have demolished by one and the same blow, the 
personal rights of the citizen, the rights of property, and the pro- 
visions for the security of these, in the constitutions, both state 
and national. The true character of this measure is disclosed in 
"Dwight's History of the Hartford Convention," pages 311-336. 
Every American citizen ought to study this, to know what the 
rulers of a republic can sometimes dare to do. The Congress of 
that day, submissive as it was to the will of the Executive, or 
submissive as the Executive may have been to its will, (as the 
truth may be,) had not the hardihood to give to this proposal the 
form of law; though it came near to that point. 

Congress was called together by the President, on the 19th of 
September (1814). The message disclosed the deplorable state 
of the country, as to credit and force to carry on the war, and 
called on Congress to exert all its energies. Congress inquired 

30* 



354 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

of Mr. Monroe, then lately appointed (or acting) Secretary of 
War, what he had to propose. It was not until the 17th of Octo- 
ber, that he presented his conscription plan. This was made 
public, and was as thoroughly discussed out of Congress, as by its 
members. Eighty thousand men were, by a law proposed by Mr. 
Giles, to be submitted to the conscription, probably as the first 
call. The law passed the House, 84 to 72; the term of service 
to be one year; and that the President might call directly on the 
militia officers for the men, in case the governors of states refused 
on request of the President, to detach and surrender the required 
number. 

The Senate insisted, that the term of service should be two 
years, and that the President should not have the power to call on 
the militia officers, if the governors of states refused to comply 
with his call. So the two branches disagreed. When the sub- 
ject came again before the Senate, Mr. Rufus King moved to 
postpone the bill to the second Monday of March, (a day beyond 
that at which the session was to close,) which was carried, 14 to 
13. Thus narrowly did the citizens of the United States escape 
the conscription. 

It is highly probable^that, if it had been attempted to enforce 
the system of impressment and military conscription by law, the 
government would have come to an end. The citizens of the 
United States could not, and would not have submitted themselves 
to its operation. 

It is a longtime since military conscription was familiarly spoken 
of in this country. As some future administration may venture 
on the like measure, it may not be useless to speak of it briefly, 
as it existed in France, from which country it was undoubtedly 
borrowed, to be applied to our own. 

The world had, for a long time, regarded with terror and abhor- 
rence the military ascendency of France. It was seen, that 
French armies were everywhere victorious by the combination of 
skill and numbers. Skill could be accounted for. Young and 
ambitious generals, called to command in right of talents, and 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 355 

not of family, or princely favor, could hazard life, and make their 
followers emulate their example; and numbers, thoroughly drilled 
and animated by French enthusiasm, could do all that was re- 
quired for conquest. But how these myriads were drawn forth 
was not so easily understood. 

To Mr. Robert Walsh, now of Philadelphia, must be given the 
honor of having disclosed to Europe, as well as to his own 
country, the true causes of the military power of France. When 
Mr. Walsh was yet a very young man, he had diligently inves- 
tigated the origin and character of this power, and published the 
result in the Edinburgh Review in the year 1809. This essay 
was sufficiently attractive to have been translated into all the 
languages of Europe. After Mr. Walsh returned to the United 
States, he published another work early in 1812, entitled: "A 
Letter on the Genius and Dispositions of the French Government, 
including a View of the Taxation of the French Empire." 

This production was also translated into all the languages of 
Europe. Several editions of both works were published in the 
United States. Before these labors of Mr. Walsh were thus pub- 
lished and made known, there was an undefined terror of French 
power, which made a war with England exceedingly dreaded, 
because an inevitable consequence was held to be an alliance 
with France. When the pages of Mr. Walsh had been read, 
contrary to the common maxim, that undefined apprehension is 
more terrific than the reality, it was made clear to every thoughtful 
mind, that nothing which had been imagined of the fraud and 
force of France had come even near to the truth. An edition of 
Mr. Walsh's exposition of France was published by subscription 
in Massachusetts, to be circulated gratis, so that the people might 
judge of the sort of dominion under which they were sure to 
come, in the event of a war with England. 

Mr. John Howard, son of Governor Howard of Maryland, also 
published a work on French conscription. This work shows 
what Mr. Madison, as President, and Mr. Monroe, his Secretary, 
really intended, and desired to impose on their fellow-citizens, in 



356 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

the form of military conscription for the conquest of Canada. 
But then it should be remembered, not only that the free citizens 
of America were to endure all the miseries to which French popu- 
lation were subjected, but also, that the proposed system here was 
most obviously a mere tyranny, and amounted to an absolute re- 
peal of all constitutional security. 

Whenever the measures of government are such as to come 
home to daily bread and to persorial liberty, Americans will stop 
to inquire, and will not be contented with anything short of the 
truth. This odious conscription was thoroughly understood. If 
it had assumed the form of law, and if it had been attempted to 
enforce that law, no doubt the citizens would have armed and 
might have marched, but not, it is believed, to Canada. 



LETTER LXVI. 

January 19, 1S34. 

In the summer of the year 1814, the enemy had taken posses- 
sion of so much of the state of Maine, as extends from the British 
provinces to the Penobscot; and had absolute command in all the 
neighboring waters. The head-quarters of the enemy were at 
Castine ; and one frigate ventured to ascend quite up to Bangor. 
It is believed, that there was not a single soldier in the service of 
the United States, anywhere within the limits of New England, 
unless towards the northern frontier. It was rumored and believed, 
that a British force was about to embark in England and Ireland, 
under the command of General Hill, for the special purpose of 
invading New England. The troops thus expected had been in 
the battles of Europe, and were likely to be very unwelcome 
visiters. 

Governor Strong was advised by his council, to call the legis- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 357 

lature together, and to lay before them the state of the country. 
The leading men who were to be present in the legislature, and 
others, whose judgment was respected, frequently compared opin- 
ions on the deplorable condition to which the country was reduced, 
and on the possible means of resisting invasion, and securing 
themselves, their families and fellow-citizens from the evils which 
were impending. 

Utterly abandoned as New England was by the national govern- 
ment, there was no alternative but to use its own means of pro- 
tection. The general sentiment was, that the New England states 
must combine to save themselves, by their own force and resources, 
from becoming a conquered country. The terror of the conscrip- 
tion system, on the one side, and the terror of invasion, on the 
other, had produced a popular excitement, which made it inevita- 
ble that something must be done under state authority, to prevent 
evils, the consequences of which could be more easily dreaded, 
than remedied when present. 

Under such circumstances, the legislature assembled. After 
the most serious deliberation, it was resolved, that as the perils, 
to which Massachusetts was subjected, were common to all the 
New England maritime states, a common cause should be made 
among them all ; and that to effect this object, delegates should 
be invited to assemble at Hartford on the 15th day of December 
following ; and that reports should be made to the legislatures of 
their respective states. 

The members of this convention, as stated by Mr. Dwight in 
page 351 of his work, were these : From Massachusetts, George 
Cabot, Nathan Dane, William Prescott, Harrison Gray Otis, 
Timothy Bigelow, Joshua Thomas, Samuel Sumner Wilde, Joseph 
Lyman, George Bliss, Stephen Longfellow, jr., Daniel Waldo, 
and Hodijah Baylies. From Connecticut, Chauncey Goodrich, 
John Treadwell, James Hillhouse, Zephaniah Swift, Nathaniel 
Smith, Calvin Goddard, and Roger Minot Sherman. From Rhode 
Island, Daniel Lyman, Samuel Ward, Edward Manton, and 
Benjamin Hazard. From New Hampshire, Benjamin West, and 



358 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Mills Olcott. From Vermont, William Hall, jr. The three last 
members were chosen by local conventions, and not by legislative 
authority. 

[The appearance of Mr. Theodore Dwight's History of the 
Hartford Convention has diminished the number of pages origi- 
nally intended for this volume. Some materials which would 
have been used have been so much better used by him, than they 
could have been on this occasion, that whoever desires the most 
accurate information on the train of events which led to the ne- 
cessity of a convention, will be sure to find it in Mr. Dwight's 
volume. Some reference must be made to the same events, to 
connect the general course of things, but in a very brief manner.] 

The History of the Hartford Convention, published by Theo- 
dore Dwight, is a triumphant vindication of the conduct and 
character of the opposition in New England. Every position 
assumed by this writer, in relation to the ruinous party measures 
of the administration, is proved by documents proceeding from 
that administration. Every position assumed in relation to the 
patriotism of the members of this opposition, to their fidelity to 
the constitution, and attachment to the Union, is proved by docu- 
ments which no perversion of party zeal, no effort at popular 
delusion, can ever discredit. All his positions are sustained by a 
clear and cogent course of argument, which, while it confers a 
lasting honor on the writer, will carry conviction to all honest and 
impartial minds, in generations to come. This writer is also sus- 
tained by the character, the conduct and the lives of the men who 
constituted the leaders of opposition, and who gave to all opposi- 
tion its tone. 

To those # who read and think, to all who sincerely support pure 
republican government, to all who believe that such government 
can be secured only by a just and faithful exercise of state and 
national authority, Mr. Dwight's volume is earnestly recom- 
mended. 

The positions which Mr. Dwight has assumed and proved to 
all men, who can divest themselves of party prejudice, are the 
following: 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 359 

First. From the time of Mr. Jefferson's first appearance in 
the national government until he left it, he was disposed to favor 
France and to prostrate England ; and that he used all the powers 
confided to him to these ends, however sincere and honest he 
may have been in the prosecution of such policy. 

Secondly. That Mr. Madison was not only his successor, but 
the faithful promoter of the same policy, and from the same mo- 
tives. 

Thirdly. That Mr. Madison fostered all the causes of hostility 
which existed between the United States and England ; while he 
either overlooked, or tolerated far greater aggressions on the part 
of France, than England ever committed in retaliation of French 
measures. 

Fourthly. That Mr. Madison, in his first presidential term, 
recommended a declaration of war against England, either because 
he approved of that measure himself; or because he was assured, 
that, if he did not recommend it, he could not be elected a second 
time. 

Fifthly. That the real causes of the war were the motives 
before stated, while the ostensible causes of the war were the 
orders in council and the impressment of seamen. 

Sixthly. That the time chosen for this declaration was one in 
which the great cities of the Atlantic shore were not provided 
with defence ; when there was no source of revenue but com- 
merce, which war would annihilate; when there was a maritime 
force too small to deserve that name, compared with the like 
force of the enemy; and when there were no land forces, but 
such as could be had from the militia and from hurried enlist- 
ment. 

Seventhly. That the time chosen for this declaration was that, 
when Napoleon was on the march to subdue the only power on 
the continent of Europe which had resisted his measures for the 
subjugation of England ; and who moved with a force so com- 
manding, as seemed to bid defiance to the fortunes of war, and 
the reverses of unforeseen events. 



360 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Eighthly. That the first effort in the prosecution of this offen- 
sive war, was an unconstitutional demand on the governors of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut, for bodies of militia, not to repel 
invasion, but to make a conquest. 

Ninthly. That the territory intended to be conquered was the 
Canadas ; that this measure was persevered in throughout the war; 
that the sea-coast was left defenceless by the administration, and 
that these causes led to a defensive war, in which a portion of our 
own territory was conquered. 

Tenthly. That the administration became destitute of re- 
sources ; was compelled to resort to oppressive taxation ; to issue 
paper money which depreciated twenty per cent.; and that its 
credit was too much impaired to have carried on even a defensive 
war, if the New England states had not interposed their credit 
and physical force, under their own authority, to defend them- 
selves and their own homes. 

Eleventhly. That the war assumed a vindictive and ferocious 
character; and that the only alternative which the government 
could discern was, to propose conscription and impressment. 

Twelfthly. That in this extremity of distress, three of the 
New England states, by the act of their legislatures, ordered a con- 
vention of delegates — for what ? Not to dissolve the Union, not 
to oppose the administration, but to be permitted to employ, 
under the sanction of the United States, their own credit and 
their own physical force, in defence of their own territory, pro- 
perty and firesides; duties which constitutionally belonged to the 
national government, but which that government had first neg- 
lected, and then became unable to perform. 

Lastly. This convention, smarting under the perversion of 
constitutional power, properly took that occasion to propose some 
amendments of the constitution, and among others, such as might 
prevent the recurrence of commercial restrictions, and the pre- 
sence of desolating war, by the vote of a bare majority in the 
two branches of Congress ; and the assent of one man exercising 
executive power. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 361 



LETTER LXVII. 

January 24, 1834. 

The Hartford Convention was a rich and inexhaustible fund of 
abuse and crimination, for many years. Those persons who 
knew the least of the causes which led to it, and nothing of the 
motives of those who were its members, were the most busy and 
the most malignant calumniators. It is now mere matter of his- 
tory. Its members and their associates are, mostly, beyond the 
hearing of earthly censure or praise; and those who survive have 
nothing to hope or to fear from their fellow-citizens, connected 
with this subject. But they have themselves some interest in 
that impartial judgment of posterity, for which Mr. Jefferson has 
taken such unfortunate measures to prepare himself. 

Perhaps such of that posterity as care to know anything of 
gone-by events and persons, will review the first twelve years, 
and the next sixteen years of the national administration. Per- 
haps some of their number will read Mr. D wight's book. Per- 
haps they will know the real and hopeless distress to which Mr. 
Madison had reduced New England. Perhaps they will discern 
the true political character of those who made the war, and of 
those who proposed, held, or approved of the convention. His- 
tory is said to be little declarative of real motives— and that those 
of one generation cannot be well instructed in facts as they oc- 
curred among former ones. But if history does not make extra- 
ordinary blunders on this subject, it may, perhaps, be received as 
truth, that the Hartford Convention did much to preserve the 
Union, and nothing towards dissolving it. It may also be be- 
lieved, that if that spirit, out of which the convention arose, had 
not been manifested, this country would, in Mr. Madison's time, 
have submitted to a despotism, which it could not have shaken 
31 



362 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

off, but "through blood and slaughter," as Mr. Jefferson says, in 
recovering not " long lost," but very lately lost "liberty." 

It is to be hoped these historical students will know, that 
the alleged causes of the war were the orders in council and im- 
pressment ; that the former were, in fact, repealed six days after 
the declaration of war; that Mr. Madison refused an armistice, 
proposed by Admiral Berkeley, after he knew of the repeal ; that 
he carried on a war, much more against his own country, in effect, 
than against the enemy, for two years, to maintain the principle 
of protecting all who sail under the American merchant flag; a 
principle which he well knew England would concede, as soon 
as Mr. Jefferson could leave his "clover fields," to have the plea- 
sure of dining with Mons. Le General Pichegru in London, (see 
his 3d vol. p. 314,) and not a moment sooner. 

It will not be overlooked either, that the diplomatic instructions 
to the peace-makers gradually declined from a high tone of de- 
mand, to the simple command — Make peace at all events. Peace 
was made, and nothing else was made, during the two years 
that preceded it, but distress, calamity and debt, excepting 
there was proof enough made, that Americans can fight, when 
they are properly called on to engage in that business. The 
matter of English impressment remains just where it was, when 
the national government was instituted, excepting only that it 
may be somewhat the worse for the war. 

The concerns of this world are too insignificant, in the view of 
any rational man, to be intentionally misrepresented, when all his 
connexion with them is soon to end. If any injustice has been 
done to Mr. Madison in these remarks, it is not intended. He 
was Mr. Jefferson's friend and associate, in their joint views of 
federalism. If, in defending the fame of men as honest, as wise, 
and patriotic as either Mr. Mftdison or Mr. Jefferson will here- 
after be considered to have been, some painful truths must be 
asserted, it is the necessity of the case, and not the gratification 
of any unworthy feeling, that calls for them. The people of this 
country are deeply interested to know what sort of public agents 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 363 

and servants, in high places, they have had, that they may make 
their own comparisons, and judge correctly of present and of 
future ones, as they successively arise. 



LETTER LXVIII . 

January 27, 1834. 

The convention was in session from the 15th of December, 
1814, to the 5th of January following. It sat with closed doors, 
and no information was given, by any of its members, while sit- 
ting, of the measures which were discussed. This secrecy was 
construed to mean most treasonable designs, and all the friends 
of the administration were industrious to have the matter so un- 
derstood. To the opponents of the administration, who knew the 
men there assembled, and knew also, that they could listen to no 
counsels, nor propose, nor adopt any measures inconsistent with 
duty, self-respect and sober wisdom, the secrecy was in no wise 
alarming, but, on the contrary, satisfying and consolatory. , 

The only measure which the legislatures of Massachusetts and 
Connecticut thought it necessary immediately to adopt, on receiv- 
ing the report of the convention, was to send commissioners to 
Washington. Harrison G. Otis, Thomas H. Perkins and Wil- 
liam Sullivan* were sent from Massachusetts; Nathaniel Terry 
and Calvin Goddard, from Connecticut. The nature of their 
duties, and, in effect, the whole mischief of the Hartford Conven- 
tion may be truly understood by this extract from the commission : 

"To make earnest and respectful application to the govern- 
ment of the United States, requesting their consent to some 
arrangement, whereby the state of Massachusetts, separately, or 

* The author. See biography at commencement of this edition. 



364 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

in concert with neighboring states, may be enabled to assume 
the defence of their territories against the enemy; and that to this 
end, a reasonable portion of the taxes, collected within said states, 
may be paid into the respective treasuries thereof, and appropri- 
ated to the payment of the balance due. to the said states, and to 
the future defence of the same ; the amount so paid into the 
treasuries to be credited, and the disbursements so made to be 
charged to the United States." The commissioners were further 
required "to consult with, and to solicit the assistance and co- 
operation of the senators and representatives of this Common- 
wealth in the Congress of the United States." 

This commission was dated the 31st of January, 1815. The 
commissioners had just arrived at Washington, about the middle 
of February, when the news of peace was received at that place. 
The joy was universal and unalloyed; and if greater among any 
one class than another, it was so among administration men, who 
saw before them not only peace, but the prospect of retaining 
their power. 

In proof of the propriety of the measures adopted by New Eng- 
land, and of the desperate condition in which the administration 
found itself, it should be added, that a bill had been introduced, 
at the session of the existing Congress, to authorize the several 
states to take measures to defend themselves. This was the 
principal object of the Hartford Convention. As the conscription 
had been defeated, there is little doubt that such authority would 
have been given to the states, if the war had continued. 

So general and heartfelt was the joy at being at peace again, 
that celebrations were had in all the cities, in which both sexes, 
all ages and all parties united with the strongest enthusiasm. 
There were splendid processions, bonfires and illuminations, as 
though the independence of the country had been a second time 
achieved. 

There was too universal and too sincere a joy, on the restoration 
of peace, to allow of comment on Mr. Madison's self-congratula- 
tory address to Congress, announcing the treaty, concluded at 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 365 

Ghent, on the 24th of December, 1814, by Albert Gallatin, James 
A. Bayard, John Q. Adams, Henry Clay and Jonathan Russel,on 
the part of the United States, and Lord Gambier, Henry Gould- 
burn and William Adams on the part of England. 

On this occasion Mr. Madison said, among other things, 

"I lay before Congress the treaty, &c. ; while performing this 
act, I congratulate you and our constituents upon an event which 
is highly honorable to the nation, and terminates, with peculiar 
felicity, a campaign signalized with the most brilliant successes. 

" The late war, although reluctantly declared by Congress, had 
become a necessary resort, to assert the rights and independence 
of the nation. It has been waged with a success, which is the 
natural result of the wisdom of the legislative cou?isels, of the 
patriotism of the people, of the public spirit of the militia, and 
of the valor of the military and naval forces of the country. 
Peace, at all times a blessing, is peculiarly welcome, therefore, 
at a period when the causes of the war have ceased to operate, 
when the government has demonstrated the efficiency of its pow- 
ers of $3>= defence, and when the nation can review its conduct 
without regret and without reproach.'''' 

It would not be difficult to make a version of this congratula- 
tory message, partaking, at the same time, of the serious and the 
ludicrous. But the high esteem and respect in which Mr. Madi- 
son is held by most of his countrymen, are a very sufficient 
reason for not doing it. In truth, the main object of these pages, 
(as has been more than once acknowledged,) is to weigh the worth 
of Mr. Jefferson's evidence against a numerous body of his fellow- 
citizens, a purpose not to be effected without investigating his 
own worth and the value of his services. No such motive is felt 
towards Mr. Madison, who has not appeared as a calumniator of 
his fellow-citizens, except in a single instance. How Mr. Madi- 
son could have conceived the American public would credit that 
purchased renegado, John Henry; and what Mr. Madison saw in 
that man's disclosures, which warranted him to proclaim the ex- 
istence of crimes, which, if real, would have deserved a halter, 

31* 



366 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

we leave to Mr. Madison to explain. He included, in his com- 
prehensive denunciation, many men as honorable, as wise, and as 
patriotic as any discerning and impartial historian will consider 
him to have been. With this exception, we know not that Mr. 
Madison departed from the dignity implied in being the President 
of a whole people, by stooping to traduce and vilify a portion of 
them. Mr. Jefferson stands in a very different light in this sort 
of odious offence. He not only descended to the lowest calum- 
nies in his lifetime, but provided for the republication of them 
when he knew that he could not be called to account. 

If Mr. Madison had not been so intimately associated with all 
Mr. Jefferson's public policy, as to identify his own therewith, the 
present might not be a proper occasion for even adverting to the 
talents and integrity of Mr. Madison, as a statesman. We should 
have left this gentleman to be dealt with in the tribunal of history. 
Nor is it now expedient to do more than suggest the questions to 
which some future historian may think it his duty to furnish the 
proper answers. 

1. Why did Mr. Madison, after having been among the ablest 
of the able men who framed the federal constitution ; after having 
been the associate of Jay and Hamilton in commending it to 
public favor ; and after faithfully advocating its adoption by the 
Convention of Virginia, become the leader of opposition to the 
administration of that very system under Washington? 

2. Why did Mr. Madison frame and present his famous resolu- 
tions in January, 1794, based on Mr. Jefferson's commercial re- 
port, designed to hamper the commerce of this country with one 
nation, and to restrict it to a disadvantageous intercourse with 
another ? 

3. Did, or did not, Mr. Madison, under the seductive and per- 
suasive influences of Mr. Jefferson, desire to see this country de- 
part from neutrality, and engage in the wars of Europe on the 
side of the French republic? 

4. Did Mr. Madison know and approve of the investigation, 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 367 

instituted by Giles, Monroe and Venables, into the official conduct 
of his former associate, Hamilton ? 

5. Did Mr. Madison know and approve of his friend Jefferson's 
patronage of Jacobin clubs ; and of his nullifying doctrines ex- 
pressed in the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798? 

6. Was Mr. Madison the friend and counsellor of Thomas Jef- 
ferson, (when Secretary of State from March, 1801, to March, 
1809,) and did he approve of all that Mr. Jefferson did as Presi- 
dent in these eight years ? Did he advise to the exercise of exe- 
cutive power, to convert the government into an exclusive party 
machinery; — to diminish the judicial power; — to substitute gun- 
boats for a navy ; — to the purchase of Louisiana ? Was fear of, or 
favor to Napoleon among the motives? — to the gift of two millions 
to Napoleon ; — to the course of restrictions on commerce, and to 
its annihilation by embargo ; — and to the tyranny of the enforcing 
law? 

7. Why did Mr. Madison plunge this country into war, when 
he knew it to be wholly unprepared for an appeal to arms ? 

8. Why did he refuse an armistice, when the cost and calami- 
ties of war could have been thereby prevented ? 

9. Why did he persevere in the war after the pacification in 
Europe of 1814 ? Was it to settle, by war, the question of impress- 
ment ? What did Mr. Madison or Mr. Jefferson really care for 
seamen, ships and commerce ? 

Such, and many similar questions some future historian will dis- 
cuss, to show the value of Mr. Madison's integrity and talents as a 
public man. But he will also consider the close intimacy of this 
gentleman with Thomas Jefferson ; he will not overlook the pecu- 
liarly disturbed state of the civilized world at this time ; nor how 
difficult it is to govern in a country where the press is free, and 
where there are exasperated parties. The historian will heed, 
also, how diseased the perceptions of great men may be, when 
they are ambitious and subjected to the dominion of party ; nor 
will he, if deserving the trust which he assumes, forget that the 
station of a popular ruler is exceedingly arduous at all times, and 



368 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

that he needs especially, that charity which few public men, or 
any others, have not needed. 

The future historian will turn with pleasure to those parts of 
Mr. Madison's character, which all virtuous and intelligent Ameri- 
cans ought to respect him for ; amongst others, for his services in 
framing and commending the constitution ; for his conduct as 
chief magistrate, after the affairs of Europe took that turn which 
enabled him to escape from the toils in which Jefferson had en- 
twined him ; for his independence and good sense in establishing 
a national bank.* He will honor Mr. Madison for having retired 
with dignity from his high station, and for having maintained that 
dignity in retirement; exhibiting an honorable and exemplary 
virtue, as a private citizen, throughout a prolonged life. 

The citizens of the present day, and all who are to be citizens 
while the republic continues, have a serious interest in the public 
character and conduct of the two first and the two next Presi- 
dents. So recently after their ministry, and while one of them is 
still living, and while so many of both parties are still living who 
are little likely to have changed their views, a fair and impartial 
judgment of these eminent men may be unattainable. But, if the 
materials for judging are not to be furnished to those who have 

* The charter of the first Bank of the United States had expired before the war 
began. The embarrassments of the war are supposed to have been greatly in- 
creased by the want of such an institution. All the state banks in the Union, (ex- 
cept those of New England,) were compelled to suspend specie payments. This 
was an unavoidable consequence of the war. It is supposed that Mr. Madison 
was instructed by the experience of these times, that a national bank is indispensa- 
ble in our country. His approbation of a bank entitles him to respectful considera- 
tion, because it was given against the well-known opinion of Mr. Jefferson, and 
perhaps, against the opinion of a majority of citizens of his native state, to whom 
he was about to return to spend the remainder of his days. The following anec- 
dote may show what the stale of the country was at this time : A person carried 
to a bank in Pennsylvania, some bills which that bank had issued, and demanded 
gold or silver for them. He was answered, that die bank did not pay geld or silver. 
1 Give me, then, bills of the United States Bank." '-There are none." '-Then 
give me bills on any bank in New England/' "Wo have none of these." "Pay 
me then in the best count erf 'nil lulls you have." 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 369 

become citizens since these excitements have gone by, they must 
pass away themselves, before the time for impartial judgment may 
have come. How are such citizens to know, (what it most con- 
cerns them to know,) the origin and character of public policy, 
and the merits and faults of former agents ? The constitution, 
be it remembered, is no more than a collection of rules, to be 
expounded by practice in the exigencies of a nation. The con- 
stitution of England is not like ours, written; but is found in a 
long series of political events and usages. If our citizens are 
not to know what has been the practical exposition of their con- 
stitution in former times, they cannot know the soundness or un- 
soundness of the current one. It is not too early to inquire, what 
good or evil was done in the days of Washington and Adams; 
and what good or evil was done in the days of Jefferson and 
Madison, if one has any interest to know what good or evil is 
going on at the present day. 

If any one who reads these pages is disposed to think them the 
product of party favoritism, he need not and w r ill not rely on them. 
But let him look at the public documents which have been cited. 
Let him look to facts which are open to every man's view, and 
judge for himself. The writer has no point to carry, but to show 
Thomas Jefferson as he really was ; and, fortunately, every proof 
that is needed, has been furnished either by Mr. Jefferson's confi- 
dential associates, or by his own pen. In showing Thomas Jef- 
ferson as he was, it is believed that an abundance of indisputa- 
ble facts have been stated, to show who and what they were 
whom he spent fifty years in calumniating, to carry his points. 
There are yet other facts to state, of the same tendency, in their 
proper place. 

The time is not far off, when the American people will rid 
themselves of Mr. Jefferson's "heresies." They will understand 
his faults, his follies and his pretensions. They will estimate 
the worth of his assertions, made even from his own ashes. Self- 
sculptured, he stands forth as calumniator, in a bold relief un- 
known before of any man. He may be likened to the manager 



370 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

of a theatrical company, who has played in every variety of 
comedy and tragedy ; and who, at the close of the season, and 
when the curtain has dropped for the last time, reappears and in- 
vites the whole audience to come behind the scenes, to see for 
themselves by what trumpery they have been beguiled of their 
money ; and for what sort of kings, heroes and patriots they have 
thundered applause, or shed tears of sympathy. 

Mr. Jefferson's Religion. 

Mr. Jefferson demands the admiration of the world. He ranks 
himself with Washington; with the benefactors of mankind. It 
is true that he is not responsible to men for his religious opinions. 
But, if he has taken on himself to disavow that religion on which 
believers found their hopes of the future ; and which the wise and 
virtuous regard as the very bond of society and the best security 
for human happiness, he has essentially impaired the force of his 
demand. Considering Mr. Jefferson as an individual, it is of no 
more importance to inquire what his religion was, than what his 
friend, Thomas Paine's, was. But as he is still held up as an 
example, it is proper that a Christian community should know 
what sort of a Christian he was. The following extracts will 
settle that matter. They might be multiplied, but it is painful to 
transcribe them : 

In a letter to Mr. Adams, January 11th, 1817, (vol. iv., p. 
300,) he says: "The result of your fifty or sixty years of religious 
reading in the four words, 'be just and good,' is that in which 
all our inquiries must end ; as the riddles of all the priesthood 
end in four more ; 'ubi panis, ibi deus.' (My living is my reli- 
gion.) What all agree in is probably right; what no two agree 
in is probably wrong. One lately inquired of me, whether he 
might consider as authentic the change in my religion, much 
spoken of in some circles. Now this supposed, that they knew 
what had been my religion before, taking for it the words of their 
priests, whom I certainly never made the confidants of my creed. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 371 

My answer was, ' Say nothing of my religion. It is known to 
God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be 
sought in my life ; if that has been honest and dutiful to soci- 
ety, the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one.' ' 

It is with some reluctance that the following extract is made 
from a letter of Jefferson to William Short, dated August 4th, 1820, 
(vol. iv. p. 327.) 

"That Jesus might conscientiously believe himself inspired 
from above, is very possible. The whole religion of the Jews, in- 
culcated on him from his infancy, was founded on the belief of 
divine inspiration. The fumes of the most disordered imagina- 
tions were recorded in their religious code, as special communica- 
tions of the Deity ; and as it could not but happen, that, in the 
course of ages, events would now and then turn up, to which 
some of these vague rhapsodies might be accommodated by the 
aid of allegories, figures, types, and other tricks upon words, they 
have not only preserved their credit with the Jews of all subse- 
quent times, but are the foundation of much of the religions of 
those who have schismatized from them. Elevated by the enthu- 
siasm of a warm and pure heart, conscious of the high strains of 
an eloquence which had not been taught him, he might readily 
mistake the corruscations of his own fine genius for the inspira- 
tions of a higher order. This belief carried, therefore, no more 
personal imputation, than the belief of Socrates that himself was 
under the care and admonitions of a guardian Demon. And how 
many of our wisest men still believe in the reality of these inspira- 
tions, while perfectly sane on all other subjects. Excusing, there- 
fore, on these considerations, those passages in the gospels which 
seem to bear marks of weakness in Jesus, ascribing to him what 
alone is consistent with the great and pure character of which the 
same writings furnish proof; and to their proper authors their own 
trivialities and imbecilities, I think myself authorized to conclude 
the purity and distinction of his character, in opposition to the 
impostures which those authors would fix upon him." (Mr. 
Jefferson was about 77 when this letter was written ; and his 



372 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

mind seems to have been as sound then as it had ever been. We 
should not have adverted to Mr. Jefferson's religious opinions, if 
he had not been held up as a Christian; and had not deliberately 
published that Washington was an infidel.) 



LETTER LXIX. 

Februabt 3. 1834. 

On Mr. Madison's retirement, Mr. Monroe (whose name should 
ever be associated with impressment and conscription), was the 
Jeffersonian candidate for President. The peace of Europe, our 
own peace, the return of prosperity, and the inexpressible relief 
from non-intercourse, embargo and war, had made the federalists 
very indifferent as to Mr. Madison's successor. They had little 
to fear from him, and nothing to hope. Mr. Monroe met with 
little opposition at his first election, and with one opposing vote 
only at the second. He was of course a Jeffersonian President, 
and adhered to his party in all distributions of favors. He had 
no opportunity to adopt a mischievous policy, nor probably any 
desire to do it. His useful merit consisted in governing but little, 
and in leaving people to manage for themselves : a merit which 
belonged to neither of his predecessors. 

It is a remarkable fact that the most peaceable, tranquil and 
prosperous eight years, which the country has experienced since 
the beginning of this century, was during the administration of 
this gentleman. Whether this arose from his positive or negative 
qualities, or from the fact that federalists never make opposition 
for opposition's sake, and care not who governs, if they are 
governed well, it is not undertaken to decide. 

If Mr. Monroe's talents and usefulness are to be measured by 
the number of his elections and appointments, he was, undoubt- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 373 

edly, the greatest man that has ever appeared in the United States. 
There are a sort of middling-men, who are not objects of envy, 
• nor are they so inferior as to pass unnoticed. They are always 
ready for any office, and equally fit for any. Some persons have 
supposed that Mr. Monroe was at the head of this class. He 
served, honorably, some years in the revolutionary war. He 
seems to have been esteemed in his native state. (He was born 
in Virginia in 1758.) He was frequently in the legislature, was 
governor on two different elections ; and member of the old Con- 
gress. He was of the convention in 1787, and senator for some 
years. He was acting secretary at war, and secretary of state. 
He had four missions to Europe, and divers other appointments 
in the course of his life ; and, lastly, President of the United 
States. 

He was not a mercenary man, for he left public employment 
with slender means for future subsistence. Congress was sup- 
posed to have failed in showing proper respect and consideration 
for a man who had been so long in public service ; and who, 
doubtless, was an honest man, whether he was right, or wrono- in 
his views. He labored a long time with Congress, after he left 
the presidency, to get some accounts settled, in which he claimed 
to be a creditor; but without much success. It is probable that 
the wicked faction of federalists would have taken pleasure in 
seeing Mr. Monroe made comfortable in his declining years, even 
at the public expense. 

Mr. Monroe was nearly six feet in stature, well formed, light 
complexion, blue eyes. His countenance had no indications of 
superior intellect. He was a respectable looking man of that 
order called common. He was a very laborious and industrious 
man ; and may have compensated in some degree by diligence, 
for deficiencies in ability. He was the third Ex-President who 
died on the 4th of July. He died in New York in 1831, at the 
age of 73. 

Mr. J. Q. Adams went to Russia in the summer of 1809, as 
minister by Jefferson's appointment. He remained there until 
32 



374 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

his appointment in April, 1813, to be a negotiator of peace at 
Ghent. After the peace was made, he was appointed minister to 
England in February 1815, and went thither, and remained until 
he returned to be Secretary of State under Mr. Monroe in March, 
1817. He continued in this office during Mr. Monroe's eight 
years, and became a candidate for the Presidency, and was elected 
by the House of Representatives in Feb. 1825, there being no 
choice by the Electors. While he was Secretary, General Jack- 
son carried on the Seminole war, which occasioned some sharp 
diplomacy with Spain. It was in this war that General Jackson 
hung a couple of English subjects, (Arbuthnot and Ambrister,) a 
most extraordinary proceeding, to which some persons have given 
a most opprobrious appellation. Mr. Adams is understood to have 
approved of the General's conduct in this war. It had not Mr. 
Clay's approbation, who made some memorable speeches in the 
House of Representatives on this subject. On the eve of the 
Presidential election, (October, 1828,) Mr. Adams published a 
new edition of those charges against his fellow-citizens in New 
England, which he had confidentially communicated to Mr. Jef- 
ferson about twenty years before. This led to a correspondence 
between Mr. Adams and some surviving federalists, in which he 
was requested to furnish his proofs. This he declined to do. 
This correspondence was published in a pamphlet. Mr. Adams 
,was a candidate at the next election, but the reign of Andrew 
Jackson began on the 4th of March, 1829, and still continues. 



LETTER LXX. 

February 5, 1S34. 

There are many citizens in the United States who have come 
to manhood since this century began, and who sincerely believe 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 375 

that the Federalists were an unprincipled and odious faction. 
They have derived this belief from vague traditions, or, perhaps, 
from such speculations as are found in Mr. Jefferson's volumes. 
If the day for vindicating federalists has not come, they may 
safely trust their fame to the tribunal of posterity, and may have 
no fear there, in asking judgment, whether they, or Mr. Jefferson, 
are entitled to respect and gratitude. To aid in producing a just 
and righteous judgment will be the purpose of the residue of these 
pages ; and to this end facts must be stated, which no one, who 
pretends to know anything of the history of this country, can 
deny. 

There were intelligent and honest men who hazarded their lives 
in the field, or councils, or in both, to free this country from the 
monarchy and tyranny of Great Britain. A large proportion of 
these men united to form for thirteen free, sovereign and in- 
pependent states, an elective, national, republican government. 
The powers of this government were carefully limited and defined ; 
and all powers not expressly, nor by necessary implication dele- 
gated, were reserved to the states, or to the people. The mem- 
bers of the convention, who deliberately framed this system of 
government, with very few exceptions, united with other eminent 
citizens in recommending it to the people of the states. Most of 
these members were in the state conventions, where the constitu- 
tion was discussed ; and by their efforts in these conventions, and 
by appealing to the good sense of the people through the press, 
and by all other proper means to which they could resort, they 
obtained, against powerful opposition, the acceptance of this 
constitution; and thus formed the national union. The men 
who thus resisted English monarchy and tyranny, and who thus 
formed this republican and national union, were federalists. 

The President of the convention, (which framed this constitu- 
tion,) must have been well informed, by the discussions which he 
heard, of the true meaning and practical application of every 
sentence and phrase in that instrument. He was the first Presi- 
dent of the United States, selected to execute the powers which 



376 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

that instrument conferred. The Senate and House of Represent- 
atives were composed of men, many of whom had been zealous 
patriots throughout the revolutionary struggle, and most of whom 
had been members of the national, or state conventions ; or who 
were otherwise informed of the true meaning and intent of the 
constitution. The first Vice President was a man who had de- 
voted himself to the cause of the revolution, and who may be said 
to have stood second to no one in efforts, as a civilian, to free the 
country from foreign dominion, and to enable it to govern itself, 
as a republic. The President, the Vice President, and a large 
majority of both branches of Congress were federalists. 

This new form of government was organized. All the various 
powers delegated by the constitution were defined by wise laws, 
and carried into effect. The whole country arose, almost mi- 
raculously, from a state of confusion, despondency, idleness, and 
imminent peril, to one of peace, confidence, industry, security and 
unexampled prosperity. The wreck and ruin, which the revolution- 
ary struggle brought on, both of private and public credit, disap- 
peared; and all the benefits, which those who led the country 
through the revolution had desired, or imagined, were fully real- 
ized. The people of the United States, in their new and flourish- 
ing republic, took their place among the nations of the earth. 
This was the achievement of federalists. 

In the first twelve years of the national administration, the wars 
of Europe hazarded the peace of the United States. The aggres- 
sions of the belligerents, the insolent and seductive character of 
French enthusiasm, secret combinations, and claims for gratitude 
(to revolutionary France) called for all the firmness, wisdom and 
personal influence of Washington ; and for the best exertions of 
his political associates, to save the United States from the loss of 
all the benefits, which had been acquired by previous toils and 
sacrifices. Compensation for wrongs was amicably made by one 
of the belligerents, and a treaty, highly beneficial and honorable, 
was negotiated and ratified. With another, peace and compensa- 
tion were sought, and insolently denied ; all connection by treaty 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 377 

was annulled; the attitude of war was assumed; and then the 
rights of the country were immediately recognized, even by 
fraudulent and unprincipled France. The prosperity of the 
country, and the benefits of enriching neutrality were secured, 
amidst all the desolating conflicts of Europe. This was the work 

Of FEDERALISTS. 

How, then, should it have happened, that the very men, who 
hazarded all that was dear to them, to prepare their country for 
republican freedom ; who triumphantly succeeded in their efforts, 
and who blessed the nation with the best form of government 
which human wisdom could devise, and raised their fellow-citizens 
to security, honor and prosperity, unexampled in the history of 
the world, should have been suddenly converted into monarchists ; 
and into enemies and destroyers of their own monuments of glory ? 
A rational motive must be found for such a supposed change. 
It must be a motive founded in the perversions to which the hu- 
man mind is liable •, and that perversion must arise from interest; 
and interest must be found in the hope of acquiring some good 
for one's self, or in inflicting some evil on others. What good 
could the founders of a republican union promise themselves, so 
soon after its foundation, in destroying it, and in erecting a mon- 
archy, even if such a measure were possbile ; or even if it were 
a change to be had by merely willing it ? Then, what evil to 
others could they have meditated, which would not have fallen 
equally on themselves ? Usurpation was impracticable. A per- 
version of legislative and executive power, to accomplish such 
designs, involves the absurdity that the great body of citizens 
were ripe for such a change. 

The true cause of the odium attached to the name of Federalist, 
is to be found in the natural and malignant feelings of opponents. 
At the head of this opposition was Mr. Jefferson. He desired the 
overthrow of federalists, that he and his party might reign. The 
means were obvious ; they were such as he and his associates 
may have thought honest and right. There is little doubt that 
he thought of federalists as he spoke and wrote ; and as little, 

32* 



378 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

that he thought it honest and right, through the press and by the 
exertion of his own personal influence, to lead the mass of citi- 
zens to distrust, to fear and to hate federalists. He well knew 
the means of doing this. He appealed to the prejudices and de- * 
lusions of those whom he was pleased to call the people ; he 
told them of burdens which they never felt ; of usurpations and 
misapplication of power, which had no basis but in his own imagi- 
nation. He associated himself with the lowest order of popular 
deceivers. He triumphed and became President, and officially 
confirmed all that he had done as an individual. He applied the 
constitutional power, vested in him, to establish the dominion of 
party, under which the United States have been struggling ever 
since. The effect of his exercise of power, on the welfare and 
morals of the people, is shown in the present condition of the 
United States. 

Mr. Jefferson, in enumerating his own merits, claims the grati- 
tude of his countrymen for his excellent achievement in "making 
head" against federalism, and in finally destroying its dominion. 
In all this Mr. Jefferson was sincere and honest ; and died in the 
belief, that he was a great and good patriot, in having made the 
monarchical founders of the national union, the enemies of France 
and the friends of England, (as he viewed them,) odious to a ma- 
jority of his fellow-citizens. Most of this majority were little 
competent to judge, whether Mr. Jefferson was credible in his 
maledictions or not. Less of their number were competent to 
judge, whether the measures of federalists were adapted to pro- 
mote the honor and the happiness of the nation, or not. It was 
'satisfactory to this majority, that the great and good Mr. Jefferson 
said they were not, and that the authors of them were traitors and 
monarchists. 

So fell federalism ; not from its want of talent, integrity or 
patriotism ; not for its perversion of power ; but as the Spartan 
band fell at Thermopylae beneath a mound of arrows, so fell fede- 
ralism beneath a mound of calumnies and slanders, of which 
Thomas Jefferson was the maker or patron. The name became 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 379 

so odious that it was abandoned. It ought ever to have been the 
most honorable that any citizen could wear. Mr. Jefferson 
thought otherwise ; and doomed all federalists to struggle in the 
ranks of opposition under whatsoever name they could assume. 

" Federalist" meant no more than attachment to the national 
union, in contradistinction to those who were opposed to it. Like 
whig and tory, democrat and jacobin, it signified the principles 
and actions of a political class. In this relation, federalism ever 
meant this, and this only, a pure and righteous administration of 
national and state governments, in strict conformity to the estab- 
lished constitutions. So federalism will be considered in history, 
and as such will be honored by future generations. 

No exemption from human frailty is claimed for federalists. 
They were, a political party. Mr. Jefferson and his associates 
compelled them to be such party. They may, or may not, be 
thought to have acted prudently in some respects ; and especially, 
in passing the alien and sedition laws. They thought that the 
acts of those whom Mr. Jefferson befriended and patronized, en- 
dangered the safety of the country, and forced these measures 
upon them. It is believed that they were right. Whether they 
were so or not, in these measures, were they an exclusive, vin- 
dictive party? Did they turn any man out of office merely for 
political opinions ? Did they make it an indispensable qualifica- 
tion for office, that a candidate should have vowed allegiance to 
them and hostility to their adversaries ? Did they combine post- 
masters, revenue officers, clerks, printers and every grade of di- 
plomatic and executive agents, in one solid body, to uphold them, 
right or wrong') These were not the acts of federalists. 

The perversions and misrule of party power under the two 
Presidents, Jefferson and Madison, called forth the patriotic exer- 
tions of federalists. Some were in Congress, some in state legis- 
latures ; and, sometimes, a federalist was in the chief executive 
station in some of the states. Many, in private life, could not be 
tame and silent spectators of the ruinous measures which these 
two Presidents recommended or adopted. What these federalists 



380 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

did, as opponents of Jeffersonism, is no less to their honor and 
credit, than their efforts to establish a government, which these 
two Presidents, under the guidance of party zeal, did all but an- 
nihilate. 

It remains to say something of the individuals who did them- 
selves equal honor in founding and sustaining the republic ; and 
in opposing the perverse measures of Jefferson and Madison. To 
these individuals we are indebted, that there is still such an insti- 
tution as the national republic of the United States. 



LETTER LXXI. 

February 10, 1834. 

The writer of these sketches well knew all the men in Massa- 
chusetts who were engaged in public life during the administra- 
tions of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison. He has heard all of 
them express their opinions on the state of the country, in those 
days, in public and in private. With some of them he was inti- 
mately associated, and knew their thoughts on all subjects of a 
political character, as certainly as thoughts can be known, where 
there is unreserved confidence, and a common interest on the 
same subject. He never heard, from any one of these men, any 
opinion hostile to the national constitution or the union of the 
states ; but from all of them, a most unqualified and zealous de- 
votion to the preservation of both. He has heard from all of 
them, the most decided disapprobation of the public policy of 
which they were opponents. They were, one and all, from inte- 
rest, duty and principle, constitutional republicans. Yet they 
were called monarchists, Anglomen, disorganizers and traitors, 
because they warned their countrymen of the errors and follies of 
national rulers. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 3S1 

When Thomas Jefferson first became President, Caleb Strong 
was Governor of Massachusetts. He was born in Northampton, 
in 1744 ; educated at Harvard University ; by profession a law- 
yer ; and was actively engaged in the first scenes of the revolu- 
tion. As early as 1775, when he was only 31 years of age, he 
was a member of the committee of public safety. He was in 
public service during the whole of revolutionary times ; a mem- 
ber of the convention which framed the federal constitution, and 
of that which adopted it in his native state. He was senator in 
Congress in Washington's time ; governor of Massachusetts from 
1800 to 1807, and again elected in 1812, and continued in that 
office during the war. He refused to give up the militia called for 
at the beginning of the war, because, in his opinion, the call was 
not warranted by the constitution. In this opinion he was sustain- 
ed by that of the Supreme Judicial Court. Governor Strong was 
a tall man, of moderate fullness, of rather long visage, dark com- 
pexion and blue eyes. He wore his hair loose, combed over his 
forehead, and slightly powdered. He had nothing of the polish 
of cities in his demeanor, but a gentle complaisance and kind- 
ness. He was a man of strong mind, calm, cool judgment, and 
of purest character throughout his life. Perhaps no man in the 
United States could have been so unlike a monarchist and a 
traitor as Caleb Strong. 

His successor, John Brooks, was born at Medford, in 1752. 
By profession a physician, though not favored with a liberal edu- 
cation. He engaged very early in the revolutionary war, and 
acquired celebrity ; and was much distinguished at the capture of 
Burgoyne. He attracted the notice and enjoyed the confidence 
and friendship of Washington. He was often a member of the 
legislature, and was adjutant-general under Governor Strong, in 
Mr. Madison's war. Without high pretensions to intellectual 
distinction, he was a man of practical wisdom, sound judgment, 
and of pure and elevated mind. No man was more esteemed 
and respected than John Brooks. He was of middle stature, 
well formed, and of soldierly dignity of manner. Mr. Jefferson 



382 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

does not mention John Brooks by name, as one of the "worthless 
and disaffected," but he was of the denounced class of citizens. 
Christopher Gore is specially named as one of the Anglomen 
and traitors. He was born in Boston, in 1758, educated at 
Cambridge, and became an eminent lawyer. He was one of the 
convention that adopted the constitution, in which he took an ac- 
tive and honorable part. He was the first attorney of the United 
States, for the Massachusetts district, under the new constitution. 
In 1796 he was appointed a commissioner to settle the claims 
for British spoliations under Jay's treaty. He was eight years in 
England in this employment. On his return, so acceptable had 
been the performance of his duties in that station, that the most 
respectable persons united in a festival to do him honor; and a 
more sincere and cordial testimonial of respect and esteem was 
never given to any man. He was in the Senate of Massachu- 
setts for two or three years after his return. One of the ablest 
papers that appeared on the orders in council and the decrees of 
France, and on the manner in which these had been treated by 
the national government, was drawn up by him, in the form of a 
report on a memorial of citizens to the legislature. There are 
many other public documents from his pen. In 1809 he was 
chosen Governor. His speeches, in that office, are to be con- 
sidered in relation to Mr. Jefferson's commentaries on Governor 
Gore's political tendencies. In 1814 Mr. Gore was senator in 
Congress from Massachusetts, where he remained about three 
years, and then withdrew from all public employment. Mr. Gore 
was rather tall, and, in middle life, of full person and erect, but 
began to bend forward at an earlier age than common. He was 
bald on the whole upper surface of his head, at an unusually early 
period. His hair was tied behind and dressed with powder. 
His face was round and florid, his eyes black; his manners 
courteous and amiable. His eloquence was dignified and im- 
pressive. In all his relations and deportment, he had the bearing 
of a polished and well-bred gentleman. With his intimates he 
was free and social, and had, and deserved to have, many affec- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 383 

tionate friends. Mr. Gore was a man of very considerable wealth, 
portions of which he bestowed munificently by will to public in- 
stitutions, and especially to Harvard University. One can readily 
see, why a man so circumstanced in the world, should desire that 
the Union and the national constitution should be preserved, and 
the latter righteously administered ; and it is impossible to discern 
any motive which such a man could have, for desiring to intro- 
duce popular commotion and anarchy. But it is easily to be per- 
ceived why Mr. Jefferson may have found it convenient to make 
such an opponent odious. 

One of the eminent men whom Mr. Jefferson is particularly 
disposed to notice as a monarchist and Angloman, (Mr. Jefferson's 
favorite name for those whom he considered to be of the English 
faction,) was George Cabot. This gentleman was born in Salem 
in 1752. Before he was 26 years of age he was a mer§ber of 
the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. In 1787-8 he was a 
distinguished member of the state convention, on the federal con- 
stitution ; and for several years senator in Congress. The latter 
years of his life he was sometimes in the state legislature, and in 
the executive council. In the deplorable distress, caused by 
Madison's war, Mr. Cabot consented to be one of the Hartford 
Convention, in which assembly he was President. Mr. Jefferson 
had the strongest inducement to depreciate Mr. Cabot, for no man 
saw more clearly the motives of Mr. Jefferson and the conse- 
quences of his policy. All the party malignity Mr. Jefferson 
felt for Hamilton, was extended to all Hamilton's political friends, 
and to none more than to Mr. Cabot and Mr. Ames, who accorded 
entirely with Hamilton, in his views of national policy. It is no 
easy task to describe George Cabot in a manner worthy of him, 
and adapted to make known by words, what he was, as a states- 
man, a man of information, a patriot, a citizen and a gentleman. 
His early days were passed in the usual seminaries; and he was 
for some time at Cambridge University, but left it in his boyhood, 
for the purpose of qualifying himself for a life of business. He 
became his own teacher, and for the higrh elevation, to which he 



384 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

afterwards attained, he was indebted to his own cultivation of his 
extraordinary powers of mind. The state of the country and the 
deep concern which he took in its prosperity, directed his atten- 
tion to the great public interests. One who had the best oppor- 
tunities to know him, (Dr. Kirkland,) thus describes his qualities: 
"His mind was at once comprehensive and discriminating; full, 
yet accurate. He was sagacious and acute in disentangling in- 
volved and difficult subjects ; knowing how to separate appearances 
from realities ; to distinguish the probable, the true, the practical. 
The materials, that constituted his intellectual store, lay in his 
mind in methodical arrangement, ready to be applied to their 
proper uses, for argument, persuasion, colloquial communication, 
or the conduct of life." 

On national subjects which engaged the public attention in the 
first fijjfeen years of this century, no man thought more, or more 
profoundly and justly than Mr. Cabot. He was listened to with 
the highest respect and confidence by the most eminent men of 
the time; and by no one more than his intimate friend Mr. Ames. 
No one left Mr. Cabot's presence without being made wiser, if he 
was capable of being instructed. Not only were the treasures of 
his mind frankly and freely poured forth, but with a clearness and 
elegance of expression, and in tones so captivating, that no paral- 
lel case can be mentioned. 

His life was as pure and blameless as his intellectual pow- 
ers were transcendent. He had manifested in all his public 
relations, an ardent zeal for the constitution and the Union ; all 
his hopes of welfare and personal consideration rested on the re- 
publican experiment that his country was making. No one de- 
sired more sincerely that the experiment should be successful, 
and, consequently, no one felt more keenly the defeat which Jef- 
fersonism threatened to effect. Of that system of policy he w T as 
seriously and conscientiously an opponent. In proportion to his 
influence was the measure of calumny. 

Mr. Cabot is most affectionately and respectfully remembered, 
by all who had the honor and good fortune to enjoy his friend- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 385 

ship. But they who knew him are passing away; the remnant 
is daily diminishing; and it is sorrowful to feel assured, that so 
little will be known in distant times of one whose counsels, 
while living, were held in the highest veneration. It is to be re- 
gretted that there is nothing preserved of so rich and prolific a 
mind, but in the memory of those who are also soon to pass 
away. 

Mr. Cabot was a tall man, well formed, of courteous and ele- 
gant manners, and refined aspect; his complexion light, his eyes 
blue ; his mode of speaking in colloquial intercourse, serious and 
earnest, but not vehement. The dress of his thoughts was clear, 
strong and appropriate, and every sentence apparently incapable 
of amendment. 

It was such a man that Mr. Jefferson would send down to pos- 
terity as a monarchist, disorganizer, and enemy of his country.* 

To these four names, (Strong, Brooks, Gore and Cabot,) might 
be added hundreds of others no longer among the living, com- 
prising lawyers, merchants, farmers and mechanics, as well 
known in their respective spheres as these four were ; all of whom 
thought, on national subjects, as these four thought ; and all of 
whom were, conscientiously, opponents of Jeffersonism ; and all of 
whom were, consequently, monarchists, disorganizers and trait- 
ors. These men, one and all, regarded with abhorrence the 
reign of French jacobinism in Europe, and were indignant at 
seeing Mr. Jefferson's efforts to transplant, or to engraft it on 
American stock. 

These four have not been selected in disregard of others, not 
less respectable and worthy, but because three of these four be- 

* It is well remembered to have been one of Mr. Cabot's opinions, that this 
country must, sooner or later, submit, (as in ancient republics,) to the termination of 
freedom through popular delusion. He thought the natural action of this spirit was 
most terrible in small communities ; and that the prolonged safety of this country 
would be found in the diffusion of its inhabitants over a wide surface. He was, 
therefore, for continuing the unity of the American people, and avoiding the evils 
of party feeling, when limited to narrow' spaces and to small numbers. 

33 



386 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

gan with the American revolution, and labored through it; be- 
cause one of them was a framer of the national constitution ; all 
four of them strenuous advocates for its adoption ; three of them 
officers under it ; and all of them in high offices under the state 
constitution. The election of such men, by those who knew them 
well, is some evidence of their intelligence and virtues.* 

Such men Thomas Jefferson charges with plots and combina- 
tions to subvert the institutions which they had established ; and 
at the very time when their purposes were in successful experi- 
ment under their own direction. On the continued success of 
this experiment depended their fame, their property, their per- 
sonal welfare, the prosperity and happiness of their friends and 
kindred. 

What, then, was Thomas Jefferson's motives ? Was he fraud- 
ulent and base? Probably not. He was under the delusion 
which beguiles a vain, wrong-headed, selfish party man. It is 
such men who have overturned all former republics. They sub- 
stitute themselves and their party for the country, the people, the 
laws and the constitution ; and are, at last, forced into despotism, 
whether they so intended or not. 



LETTER LXXII. 

February 16, 1834. 
There are three persons whom Mr. Jefferson is pleased to dis- 
tinguish with peculiar emphasis in his writings, viz., Timothy 
Pickering, John Lowell and Stephen Higginson. Mr. Pickering 
was in the public service from the commencement of the revolu- 

* Caleb Strong died in 1820; George Cabot in 1823; John Brooks in 1825; 
Christopher Gore in 1827. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 387 

tion, almost to the close of his long life, in various and in honor- 
able stations. He proved himself to be an able man in all of 
them, and an officer of incorruptible integrity. This gentleman 
has but recently deceased ; and there are so many now living 
who knew him well, and who speak of him with the highest re- 
spect, that it must be left to those who are so much better informed 
than the writer of these sketches can assume to be, to do him 
justice, if they think Mr. Jefferson's remarks worth noticing. It 
must strike them as ludicrous, that a man, who might be selected 
as a model of republican simplicity and directness, should be 
publicly charged with plotting, (in conjunction with a London 
merchant of singular retiredness of deportment in all things but 
his mercantile concerns,) to subject his own country to British 
dominion. Mr. Jefferson may have known how such affairs are 
managed ; but it is believed that the British ministry and fede- 
ralists were equally strangers to such modes of managing public 
interests. The absurdity of supposing that the British could 
carry any designs which they may have had, by corrupt means, 
or that any distinguished members of the federal party imagined 
they could accomplish any British purpose through such means, 
is too glaring to have found admission to any but a distempered 
mind. The case was much otherwise with the French. The 
miseries to which they subjected other nations, were the conse- 
quences of management no less than of force. 

There is a very remarkable record in Mr. Jefferson's 4th vol- 
ume, page 514, under date of December 25, 1800, concerning 
the two other persons before named, — John Lowell (sen.) and 
Stephen Higginson. Though there is no pleasure in copying Mr. 
Jefferson, this record cannot be understood without taking the 
whole of it together. 

" Colonel Hichborn tells me, what Colonel Monroe had before 
told me of as coming from Hichborn. He was giving me the 
characters of persons in Massachusetts. Speaking of Lowell, he 
said, he was in the beginning of the revolution a timid "Whig, but 
as soon as he found we were likely to prevail, he became a great 



388 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

office hunter. And in the very moment of speaking of Lowell, 
he stopped : Says he, I will give you a piece of information, 
which I do not venture to speak of to others. There was a Mr. 
Hale in Massachusetts, a reputable, worthy man, who, becoming 
a little embarrassed in his affairs, I aided him, which made him 
very friendly to me. He went to Canada on some business. The 
Governor there took great notice of him. On his return, he took 
occasion to mention to me, that he was authorized by the Gov- 
ernor of Canada to give from three to Jive thousand guineas, each, 
to himself, and some others, not to do anything to the injury of 
their country, but to befriend a good connection between England 
and it. Hichborn said he would think of it, and asked Hale to 
come and dine with him to-morrow. After dinner he drew Hale 
fully out. He told him he had his doubts, but particularly, that 
he should not like to be alone in such a business. On that, Hale 
named to him four others who were to be engaged, two of whom, 
said Hichborn, are now dead, and two living. Hichborn, when 
he had got all he wanted out of Hale, declined in a friendly way. 
But he observed those four men from that moment, to espouse the 
interests of England on every point and on every occasion. 
Though he did not name the men to me, yet as speaking of Low- 
ell was what brought into his head to tell me this anecdote, J con- 
cluded he was one. From other circumstances respecting Stephen 
Higginson, of whom he spoke, I conjectured him to be the other 
living one.'''' 

" December 26th. In another conversation, I mentioned to 
Colonel Hichborn, that, though he had not named names, I had 
strongly suspected Higginson to be one of Hale's men. He 
smiled and said, if I had strongly suspected any man wrong- 
fully, on his information, he would undeceive me : that there were 
no persons he thought more strongly to be suspected himself, 
than Higginson and Lowell. I considered him as saying they were 
the men. Higginson is employed in an important business about 
our navy." 

A personal friend of the late Judge Lowell, and of the late Mr. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 389 

Higginson, has favored the writer with the following remarks on 
the foregoing extracts : 

" This most extraordinary accusation was entered in Mr. Jeffer- 
son's diary in 1800, twenty-five years after the supposed and im- 
puted transactions and crimes ; it was carefully concealed by Mr. 
Jefferson during his whole life, and left to be published to the 
world half a century after the supposed transaction ; and when, 
from Mr. Jefferson's uncommon longevity, it was absolutely cer- 
tain that there could not be a single surviving witness to an 
accusation so solemn, and, if unfounded, atrocious. It was upon 
its face a case, in which a man indulged his passions, to gratify 
his own personal hatred towards men who differed from him in 
political opinions. This should not be forgotten. As to the de- 
gree of unfairness, and we may add baseness, of leaving a post- 
humous charge on record against men of as high and honorable 
character as any in New England, and who enjoyed always the 
entire confidence of the intelligent and astute people of the state 
of Massachusetts, every man can form an opinion for himself. 
When history can be so much corrupted and defiled, that a man 
consulting his own passions, and governed solely by his personal 
prejudices, shall be permitted to state, as facts, such idle and un- 
founded surmises, after the demise of his friends and coadjutors, 
surely there is no security for the truth of history, or for the 
character of individuals employed in the great concerns of a 
nation. 

"But, to analyze this most licentious, and, in its form and cir- 
cumstances, most improbable story: 'A Mr. Hale,' without a 
Christian name, without any description of residence to enable the 
accused parties to identify him, and utterly unknown to any man 
now living, applies to Colonel Hichborn, and admitting that he 
had himself received a bribe of three thousand guineas from the 
Governor of Canada, proposed to bribe the Colonel himself. 
This, he says, was owing to great favors, he, (Colonel Hichborn,) 
had rendered to Hale. The Colonel, after this base offer, invites 
Hale to his table, and learns from him, that four other persons had 

33* 



390 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

received bribes, and, therefore, the Colonel need feel no delicacy 
in following the example. The Colonel's own sense of honor and 
patriotism forbade him to accept the bribe. He had not the cou- 
rage and hardihood to announce to Jefferson the names of the 
guilty parties, even in 1800, twenty years after the supposed 
events. Jefferson presses him to name the parties in vain, and 
therefore he suggests to the Colonel who they were. The Colonel 
replies in an oracular style, and Jefferson 'concludes' and 
4 conjectures' that Lowell and Higginson were the men intend- 
ed by Hale. Thus he commits to posterity, on the credit of 
Colonel Hichborn, and on his own conjectures, (which Hichborn, 
the most fearless and dauntless of men, did not venture to dis- 
close,) a charge against Judge Lowell and Stephen Higginson, 
amounting to treason. To»be sure, both of these men afterwards 
enjoyed, during their long lives, the confidence of all who knew 
them. To be sure, they were among the most active revolution- 
ary patriots. They w r ere, moreover, the personal friends and 
coadjutors of Jefferson himself, as can be proved by their corre- 
spondence ; still this did not hinder Mr. Jefferson, at the end of 
fifty years, a half century after the supposed events, from com- 
mitting this atrocious charge against his co-patriots and personal 
friends to paper, to be published after his decease. 

" Mr. Jefferson was a lawyer and a very sagacious man. He 
was perfectly capable of weighing evidence. How, then, could 
the following queries have escaped him? And why should he 
not have put them to Colonel Hichborn, if his only object was 
the truth ? 

"Colonel Hichborn, that Mr. Hale, whoeverhe might be, avow- 
ed himself to you to be a purchased traitor. He had received, 
he told you, his three thousand guineas for the sale of his princi- 
ples. He was, by our law, subject to death as a traitor. You 
were his confidential friend. Why did not you denounce him at 
once to the committee of safety, or to the attorney-general of the 
state, or to the grand jury? You were guilty of misprision of 
treason. This is not all ; you ought to have denounced, openly 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 391 

and frankly, Higginson and Lowell. They enjoyed the highest 
confidence in our republic. They were not only members of the 
legislature of Massachusetts, but were both of them unanimously 
elected members of the revolutionary Congress, and one or the 
other of them continued in these important stations till the peace. 
Why did you not alarm the republic? You hated, with as deep 
and cordial a sentiment as a man could do, Stephen Higginson; 
but you admired, courted, and praised John Lowell till his death. 
How, then, can I reconcile your story with your patriotism ? How, 
in the bitter times which followed the revolutionary war, can I 
reconcile your silence with truth? Did you not go out with 
Stephen Higginson as your second in command, to suppress the 
insurrection of 1786, and did you ever lisp a word against him 
till now? Sir, I doubt your story. 

"Such would have been the reflections of an honest mind. 
Such were not those of Mr. Jefferson." 

Such are the views of one who knew Judge Lowell and Ste- 
phen Higginson much better than the writer could have known 
them. Setting aside the improbable occurrence, that the Governor 
of Canada would first corrupt an obscure individual, and then 
trust him with fifteen or twenty thousand guineas to corrupt others, 
it is quite incredible that two such men as Lowell and Higginson 
were ever known to be, would trust their fame to " a Mr. Hale." 
It is very uncertain what Colonel Hichborn told Mr. Jefferson, 
with the preface that he would tell no one but him, though he 
had before told the same thing to Monroe, who had told it to Jef- 
ferson. It is still more uncertain what was told, for the reason 
that Mr. Jefferson says it was; because it is proved, that Mr. 
Jefferson had either such a memory as he says Washington 
had, (always bad and growing worse,) or that he could record 
"false facts." 

There is a striking absurdity in Mr. Jefferson's own statement. 
These "three to five thousand guineas each" were to be given to 
men, as a bribe, for what ? " Not to do anything to the injury of 
their own country, but to befriend a good connection between Eng- 



392 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

land and i£." It is much to be regretted that "a Mr. Hale" did 
not bribe Mr. Jefferson with the whole amount, if he could have 
been thereby induced to act in conformity to the Governor's pro- 
posal. It was his duty "to befriend a good connection with 
England," as Washington did, as well as with all other nations. 
He pursued on all occasions precisely the opposite course. And 
as to doing " nothing to the injury of his own country," surely, 
no man above or below its surface, (not even excepting Andrew 
Jackson,) has done it so much injury. 

But it is feared that this calumny has been treated with much 
more seriousness than it deserves. It would not have been no- 
ticed at all, but for the purpose of presenting Mr. Jefferson in 
one more aspect of his own choosing ; certainly, not to vindicate 
either of the gentlemen so accused. They need no vindication 
but that which the record carries in itself. 

John Lowell was an eminent lawyer, and in full practice at the 
commencement of the revolution. He continued his practice 
during the war, as counsel for merchants and others, who were 
zealous on the patriot side. He was a member of the old Con- 
gress ; and on the adoption of the federal constitution, was ap- 
pointed District Judge in Massachusetts, by President Washing- 
ton ; in which office he continued, until appointed Chief Justice 
of the Circuit Court, in 1801, by Mr. Adams. He remained in 
that office until Mr. Jefferson caused that court to be abolished, 
in 1802, in which year Judge Lowell died, at the age of about 50. 

Judge Lowell was one of the most amiable, pure and honorable 
men that ever lived. He was a true constitutional federalist, and 
expressed his opinions as such. But his judicial character, and 
his own sense of propriety, prevented him from engaging in po- 
litical controversies. Mr. Jefferson could not have made a more 
unfortunate selection of a man to receive "three to five thousand" 
British guineas, than Judge Lowell. 

Stephen Higginson was an eminent merchant ; an intimate 
friend of George Cabot ; and was undoubtedly chargeable with 
the twofold sin of being a stanch Washingtonian federalist, and a 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 393 

most sincere and inflexible opponent of the Gallic- American po- 
licy of Mr. Jefferson. He was navy agent of the United States, 
from the first beginning of the navy, until he was dismissed to 
accommodate one of Mr. Jefferson's partisans. Mr. Higginson 
was a man of strong, clear mind, of simple, serious manners, 
and very competent to understand the character and tendency of 
Mr. Jefferson's measures. He was a man of habitual reserve and 
few words, except among his friendly associates. To any one 
who knew Mr. Higginson, there can be nothing more palpably 
absurd, than to suppose him a purchased man in a scheme of in- 
trigue and treason. Mr. Jefferson has been very unlucky in his 
selection of men, in this quarter, for political knaves. 

Colonel Hichborn was a lawyer, and was of the Jefferson 
party; he was a man of very varied fortune. He well knew 
Judge Lowell and Mr. Higginson, and both of them well knew 
him. And though Colonel Hichborn may not have felt much re- 
straint in discussing the characters of political adversaries, (ap- 
parently a favorite vocation of Mr. Jefferson,) it is very doubtful, 
from Mr. Jefferson's own record, whether Colonel Hichborn in- 
tended to convey the opinions which Mr. Jefferson intended to 
make credible, by his adoption, or, more properly, his creation of 
them. 



LETTER LXXIII. 

February 25, 1834. 

The number of distinguished men who appeared at the close 
of the last and the beginning of this century, is so great, that it 
is a delicate matter to decide, who among them should not be 
mentioned, as all of them cannot be. It may be safest, not to 



394 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

add to the number of those who have been mentioned ; but there 
are some who held so conspicuous a rank, that they should not be 
passed over ; especially, as in mentioning them, a deserved hom- 
age will be rendered to the human mind. In these instances 
there are seen two men, both of whom are entitled to be called 
great, both eminent lawyers; the one rich in the knowledge of 
other men's thoughts, as well as of his own ; the other rich in 
knowledge for which he was little indebted to other minds, and 
most of which he created in his own. These were Parsons and 
Dexter. 

Theophilus Parsons, the son of a clergyman, was born in By- 
field, Mass., February, 1750. He was educated at Cambridge, 
and is said to have been an uncommonly hard student while there. 
He kept school at Portland, and was admitted to the bar at that 
place. When Portland was burnt he went to his father's at By- 
field. The learned Judge Trowbridge, who lived in Cambridge, 
retired to the same town during the war, and carried with him his 
law library for amusement. As professional books were difficult to 
be had, Mr. Parsons availed himself of the Judge's books and con- 
versation ; and studied so intently as to impair his health, and to 
make the continuance of his life exceedingly precarious for many 
years. He became an invalid, very thin in person, and an afflicted 
hypochondriac. The extreme care which he manifested in a f ter 
life in guarding his person, may have arisen from these early solici- 
tudes. After the war, he opened an office in Newburyport, and 
soon became eminent. He afterwards removed to Boston. In 
1806, on the resignation of Chief Justice Dana, he was appointed 
to the vacated station, and held it to the close of his life, October 
30th, 1813, when he was 63 years of age. 

He was the most learned lawyer of his time ; and was called 
the giant of the law. He comprised in his professional attain- 
ments, among other things, a full and accurate knowledge of the 
common law, civil, maritime and ecclesiastical law, the law-mer- 
chant, the statute and common law of his own country, and the 
law of nations. He retained all the learning which he thought it 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 395 

necessary to acquire, and, from the methodical order of his mind, 
all he knew was ever familiarly at his command. His speeches 
to juries and judges were neither eloquent nor elegant, in any. 
thing but pertinency and argument. They were never long, and 
he was among the few who could discern when they have said 
enough for their purpose. His eloquence was earnestness, his 
manner easy, familiar, persuasive, and never vehement. It is not 
remembered that he ever used a brief; his memory was his brief, 
and the best one that a lawyer can use. 

His presidency on the bench was an era in judicial ability, 
and in despatch of business. It would be assuming too much to 
pronounce on the character of his judgments. Very few of 
them have not been approved by the able minds which have 
since been employed on the same subjects. Some of them have 
been especially respected for their explanatory and illustrative 
notice of what may be distinguished as the common law of the 
state. There may be different opinions as to the manner in 
which he performed his official duties. It satisfied him, that a 
case was rightly disposed of, whether the counsel and parties 
were, or were not satisfied with the despatch with which it was 
done. If he thought a case needed no argument, he was not 
disposed to hear any. However much the patience of judges 
and jurors may sometimes be exercised, litigants win, or lose 
cases with much more complacency, if the matter has been well 
" spoken to." It is a trait in the character of Yankees, that they 
like a close warfare of words, especially when they pay money 
to have it; and they like to have their wranglers for hire "hold 
on." But the Chief Justice, by intuition, or some process analo- 
gous to his familiar use of algebraic deduction, saw what the end 
must be ; and was impatient of the slow process by which inferior 
minds arrived at it. It is doubtful, whether it is best for a judge, 
or for the community, that he should know much more and dis- 
cern much more rapidly, than any or all around him, when 
engaged in the administration of justice. Whatever may be 



396 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

thought of such matters, Chief Justice Parsons was one of the 
most learned and able judges that ever appeared in any court. 

His political life was not distinguished. He- is said to have 
had a distaste for political controversy. It was not congenial to 
the character of his mind. He was of the convention which 
framed the Massachusetts constitution, and of that which adopted 
the national one. In both these assemblies he held a high rank, 
and was the inferior of no man whom he met therein. On extra- 
ordinary occasions, he sometimes accepted a seat in the state 
legislature. He was an original and thorough federalist; and, 
consequently, understood and condemned Mr. Jefferson's theories 
and practice. As Mr. Jefferson was curious and diligent, as to 
friends and foes, and loved to discuss character, he ranked Judge 
Parsons among the enemies of the country. No doubt this 
gentleman kept very bad company, in Mr. Jefferson's opinion ; 
for he was the intimate associate of such men as Cabot, Lowell, 
Higginson and Ames ; and (which must have been conclusive 
with Mr. Jefferson), he was appointed Chief Justice by Caleb 
Strong. 

As a scholar and a man of science, (especially in Greek and 
mathematics,) there is unquestionable evidence, from the most 
competent judges, of his very high attainments. These studies 
were his amusements; but he also read and delighted in the cur- 
rent literature of the day, and, it is said, that he was as well read 
in novels and romances, as in the law. 

Mr. Parsons was one of the most unremitting and incessant 
students that ever lived. When not called off by business, his 
daily habit was to sit and study, from twelve to fifteen hours a 
day, all his life ; and this without exercise or relaxation. Great 
lawyer as he was, he did not study law from the love of 
it. He left a great mass of manuscripts, comprising clas- 
sical literature, a Greek grammar, professional essays, and on 
mathematics and astronomy ; the two latter subjects and natural 
philosophy being his favorite studies. On such subjects he had 
collected a very considerable library ; and had also an extensive 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 397 

and valuable collection of optical and philosophical instruments. 
It is said that he published nothing, and did not intend anything 
that he wrote for publication. Nothing was left in condition for 
the press ; so that nothing remains of this great mind but his 
official judgments. 

It is grateful to know that such a powerful mind as Judge Par- 
sons had, was applied with all its force on the truths of Christian 
revelation. He is said to have examined this subject with the 
acute and discriminating ability which marked all his intellectual 
action. He publicly professed his belief in Christianity, and 
closed his life in that belief. 

He was a man of six feet in stature, of full person, but rather 
small lower limbs. It was not till he was about fifty, that his 
fullness of person occurred. His face was round and full, his 
complexion sallow, his eyes large and blue. He affected no ele- 
gance of manner or dress ; in the latter he was indifferent, if not 
careless. He often wore a colored silk handkerchief around his 
neck and over his coat. He wore a brown tie wig, the hair 
coming down in front almost to his eyebrows ; and his own hair 
sometimes appearing from behind. He had a very keen, intent 
look when making, or listening to an argument, and this appear- 
ed to be the more so from his habit of drawing his chin towards 
his breast, and looking almost through his eyebrows. This posi- 
tion of his head was probably acquired by his sedentary habit 
of study. The expression of his tranquil face was amiable and 
pleasing. In his day, at the bar, there was often a keen and 
close encounter of wit and sarcasm ; seasoned a little, sometimes, 
with political excitement, and, sometimes, arising to passionate 
expression. But Mr. Parsons did not lose himself on these occa- 
sions. 

He was naturally liable to passionate excitement. When he 
was about thirty years of age, he gave way to a very justifiable 
cause of violent anger. This happened in the presence of his 
wife, who was so much affected as to faint. He then resolved, 
never in his life to give way to passion, and, it is said, he never 
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398 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

did. It has been thought that all men of very exalted intellect, 
are, by nature, liable to violent passions. Certainly, there are 
many such cases ; but there are also many cases of passionate 
persons of very inferior minds. 

In private life and social intercourse, he was an amiable man, 
of very easy familiar manner ; and was very gracious to his 
young brethren. He loved good stories and told them well ; was 
full of apt anecdote and pleasant wit, and was ready and sharp 
at repartee. He laughed heartily, but inwardly, and with his lips 
closed. 

This eminent man had something of a defect not uncommon 
with "giant" minds. Though the ends which he desired to ac- 
complish were such as ought to be accomplished, he thought in- 
ferior minds should be managed. The suspicion that he was dis- 
posed to management, impaired his influence. Ingenuity in 
leading inferior minds to assent, where it is proper that they 
should do so, is not an uncommon trait in men of superior intel- 
lect. It is a sort of homage which such intellect pays to itself. 
But contempt and management are not readily forgiven, even by 
the most inferior. All that is true in this respect of Mr. Parsons, 
probably came to no more than this : that he was adroit in accom- 
plishing commendable purposes, which is a merit ; and not that 
he managed to attain improper purposes, which is adding one 
vice to another. Enough, perhaps, has been quoted from Mr. 
Jefferson's writings, to show what sort of a manager he was. 

The successor of Chief Justice Parsons was Samuel Sewall, 
of the ancient and distinguished family of that name. He was 
a native of Boston, but had resided for many years at Marble- 
head. He had been a member of Congress, and thirteen years 
on the bench, when appointed Chief Justice. He held this place 
but a few months. He died at Wiscasset, while on the circuit, 
instantly, and without any previous illness, June, 1814, at the 
age of 57. He is supposed to have had some disease of the 
heart. He was below middle stature, and of rather full person. 
His manners were those of a gentleman, amiable and courteous. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 399 

He was a learned lawyer, and was highly esteemed and respected. 
If his judicial opinions had any defect, it was in the want of 
clearness and simplicity. 

Chief Justice Sewall was succeeded by Isaac Parker, a native 
of Boston. After admission to the bar, he removed to Castine, 
and thence to Portland. He was marshal of the district, member 
of Congress, and was appointed associate Justice of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, in 1806, and soon after removed to Boston. 
Among the first acts under his new appointment, was to sit, as 
sole judge, in the remarkable trial of Thomas O. Selfridge, a mem- 
ber of the bar, for manslaughter. In this trial, Gore and Dexter 
were counsel for the accused. In 1814, he was promoted to the 
office of Chief Justice, and continued in that station till July, 
1830, when he died suddenly of paralysis, at the age of 63. 

Chief Justice Parker was not supposed to be a learned lawyer 
when he first took his seat on the bench; but he proved to be one 
of the ablest judges that ever sat in this court. He was natu- 
rally disinclined to labor ; but he had a clear and powerful mind, 
and was capable of intense and rapid application. His learned 
and lucid judgments, produced with wonderful facility, are the 
best evidences of his capacity. Whether his labors, or those of 
Chief Justice Parsons, in the same seat, were most useful to the 
Commonwealth, is a point on which there may be difference of 
opinion. They were both eminently useful, but were, in many 
respects, very different men. They died at the same age, and 
probably Parker could not number as many hours of study, in his 
whole life, as Parsons could number days. 

Chief Justice Parker was a man of middle stature, of full per- 
son and full face, light, or red complexion, blue eyes, and very 
high forehead, and remarkably bald. His manners were very 
simple and without pretension to polish. He was very affable, 
amiable and unpretending; and a most companionable and 
agreeable associate in private life. Perhaps no man excelled 
him in kind and friendly feelings. He used snuff immoderately; 
it affected his voice in his latter years, and may have had some 



400 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

agency in producing his sudden and lamented death. For some 
years at the close of his life, he rose long before the dawn of day, 
and dressed, and took his walk of four or five miles before break- 
fast, whatever was the season, or the state of the weather. He 
certainly lived most usefully and honorably for the public, and 
ought, therefore, to be considered to have lived usefully for him- 
self. He may not have thought so ; for, like most other men of 
his profession, however eminent, he had little to bequeath as the 
product of laborious life, but his honorable fame.* 

Samuel Dexter was a native of Boston, born in 1761. He was, 
(like John Jay,) of Huguenot descent,! on the maternal side, and 
of English on the paternal. His father w T as an eminent merchant, 
and a patron of science and literature. Mr. Dexter was educated 
at Harvard University, and left that seminary with high reputation. 
He engaged in the profession of the law, and rose rapidly in the 
public estimation. He became a member of the state legislature, 
was sent to Congress, and distinguished himself honorably in 
both branches. Mr. John Adams appointed him secretary of war, 
and then secretary of the treasury, which latter office he held 
when Mr. Jefferson became President. He performed the duties 
of these two offices with great ability. "When Jefferson came in, 
he withdrew from public employment and resumed his profession. 
He continued in this vocation to the close of his life, which event 
occurred (from sudden disease of the throat), while on a visit to 

* The Chief Justice was a man of the simplest habits of life. He happened to 
have taken a servant on the very day of an evening when he was to receive a 
society of his professional brethren. This servant had left a family in which it 
was the usage to annownce visitors, a practice unknown in the Judge's house. The 
two first who came were asked at the door for their names, and amused with the 
Judge's new style, one of them answered, John Doe and Richard Roe. The ser- 
vant threw open the door and announced, "Mr. John Doe, Mr. Richard Roe." 
The Chief Justice came forward with his usual good nature, and extending his 
band, said, "Gentlemen, I have read of you and heard of you all my life, but I had 
d( -paired of making a personal acquaintance." He ordered his servant to forego 
his gentility in future. 

f See page 91. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 401 

the interior of the state of New York, May 4th, 1816, when he 
was in his fifty-fifth year. 

It will be observed, that Mr. Dexter had filled the various 
places which have been mentioned, before he was forty years of 
age ; and in a manner which proved, that he well deserved all 
the confidence and honor which had been offered and accepted. 
Associated with Mr. Adams, it would have been surprising if 
Jefferson, Freneau, Bache, Duane, Callender, and other like 
guardians of the public welfare, had not noticed him. They 
availed themselves of an unfortunate accident, to aid them in 
their patriotic purpose of demolishing federal character. In the 
new and unprepared state of the city of Washington to be the 
seat of government, a building was hired for the use of the secre- 
tary. The adjoining building took fire, in consequence of which 
the office of the secretary, with many papers belonging to it, were 
burnt. It was an opportunity not to be lost by this company of 
public guardians. Accordingly, Mr. Dexter was charged with 
peculation, and with the wilful burning of his office, books and 
papers, to conceal it. 

Notwithstanding Mr. Dexter's attention had been so much 
abstracted from his profession, he resumed his place at the bar, 
as though he had not been absent from it ; and was at once in 
full practice in all the courts which he chose to attend. His 
prefessional reputation was sufficiently high to call him annually 
to the Supreme Court at Washington, during the rest of his life. 
In this forum he met, among others, William Pinkney, Robert G. 
Harper, and Thomas Addis Emmet, who were glad of his aid as 
an associate, and who knew what was necessary, when opposed 
to him. The course of the national administration occasioned 
many highly important litigations in this tribunal. 

Il is said, that Mr. Dexter had impaired his eye-sight by hard 
study, early in manhood. This, no doubt, was considered a mis- 
fortune, but it may not have been ; for being disqualified, by this 
occurrence, to deal with the thoughts of others, he was compelled 
to find thoughts for himself. He may thus have acquired a fa- 

34* 



402 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

cility in that very difficult exercise of the mind, voluntary think- 
ing. His manhood may be considered to have been one long 
process of meditation, reluctantly interrupted by business and 
sleep. He had no relaxation, and knew nothing of what are 
called amusements. He sat and thought; or, more commonly, 
paced his room; or, at least, so it was said of him. However 
this may have been, Mr. Dexter depended very little on books, 
and less on his pen, in preparing or delivering his elaborate argu- 
ments. He possessed himself of facts, and then resorted to his 
own contemplations to find the law, when the particular case did 
not turn on technical distinctions.* 

Mr. Dexter rarely had a brief; and never larger than a quarter of 
a sheet of letter paper, and seldom took notes, unless to preserve 
the words of a witness, or the book and page of an authority. 
His common manner of speech was deliberate, and his thoughts 
were very clearly expressed ; and the effect was, to command at- 
tention, whether of the judges or the jury; but it was only the 
eloquence of argument. In general, he stood still and erect, and 
used no gesticulation excepting occasionally his right arm was 
extended. But it was much otherwise when his case called for 
strong and impassioned expression, and when he was excited 
himself. He was capable of the strongest excitement, and some- 
times rose to tremendous eloquence. Some instances are well 
remembered, where his own feelings were strongly interested, 
and then his mighty mind came forth in words, in tones and man- 
ner, that can be best comprehended by referring to that all- 
absorbing interest which is sometimes felt in highly wrought 
scenes of the drama. Mr. Pinkney is said to have prepared his 

* It has been stated, by one who was intimately acquainted with the habits of 
Mr. Dexter, "that he never did anything with his hands he could avoid. He was 
an intense thinker, and would walk his drawing-room for hours, absorbed in deep 
meditation. His precious moments were of the early morning, when in bed. He 
awoke oftentimes before dawn, and would remain in bed, producing a gentle mo- 
tion of the body by shaking his foot, while his mind was occupied in severe con- 
templation."' 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 403 

pathos. But these great efforts of Mr. Dexter could not have 
been prepared. They were the eloquence of the moment ; and 
may have been as unexpected to himself as to his audience. 
Like Garrick, he may have been surprised by the unintended 
excelling of himself. 

It is not possible to point out his greatest argument. That 
which was considered to be one of the ablest he ever made, was 
on the unconstitutionality of the embargo laws. This was de- 
livered in the District Court of the United States. There was no 
reporter. The argument was lost except for the occasion. It is 
much to be regretted that this exposition of constitutional law 
from Mr. Dexter has not been preserved. It is believed, that no 
product of his mind, but official papers, professional arguments, 
and congressional speeches, (from the hands of reporters,) has 
been preserved, excepting his Eulogy on Ames. Mr. Dexter was 
a deep thinker ; and theology was one of the subjects which en- 
gaged his attention. He was a Christian ; and it was intimated, 
in his lifetime, that he intended a publication of his views; and 
had begun to write. But since his decease it is understood that 
he left nothing sufficiently prepared for the press. 

He took an earnest part in the suppression of intemperance, 
and was one of the first, if not the first distinguished man, who 
thought it practicable. He was the first president of the first 
temperance society formed in Massachusetts, about the year 1813.* 
He had consented to deliver the first address, but was unable to 
do so, in consequence of being detained at Washington. 

Mr. Dexter was nearly six feet in stature, of well proportioned, 
muscular frame. His hair was black, loose, unpowdered, and 
worn rather long ; it came lightly over his high, expansive fore- 
head. His face was long, his complexion dark, his eyes large 
and light-blue. There are men whose expression of face indi- 
cates, that they are mostly engaged with what is passing without 
them, while others show that they* are occupied with what is pass- 

* This is supposed to have been the first Temperance Society ever formed. 



404 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

ing within them. Mr. Dexter was of the latter description ; though 
he could observe keenly, when it was interesting to him to do so. 
His common and usual manner was a dignified and formal reserve, 
that of one who is conscious of intellectual superiority. His per- 
sonal appearance indicated that he was not a man with whom 
liberties could be taken, or to whom familiarity could be offered. 
Yet, in private intercourse, and when he felt himself unrestrained, 
he was an agreeable and instructive associate ; but he did not 
take much interest in what is called "company," and spent but 
little time in that way. Instances, however, are remembered, in 
which he gave full scope to social sympathies. He was a parish- 
ioner of the celebrated and lamented Buckminster, (who died 
June, 1812.) The distinguished men of the parish visited Mr. 
Buckminster on the evening of Sunday. (The same practice was 
observed in the time of his predecessor, Dr. Thacher, and of his 
predecessor, Dr. Cooper.) In these social interviews, Mr. Dexter 
received, as well as imparted pleasure. It is believed that he 
w T as not of that class of men who need or who desire intimacies; 
but was of the privileged few who can always be companions to 
themselves. Whether this course is, on the whole, the best, each 
one must judge for himself. 

During Mr. Madison's war, Mr. Dexter separated from his fede- 
ral friends; a circumstance which they exceedingly regretted. 
It is not known that the true causes of this separation have been 
explained. The separation continued to the close of his life. 



LETTER LXXIV. 

• March 9, 1S34. 

There are yet among the living some men whom Mr. Jeffer- 
son included in his general denunciation, and who held a con- 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 405 

spicuous rank in the first fifteen years of this century. It would 
be a grateful pleasure to speak of them, as men and as citizens. 
This would lead to a long enumeration ; too long for the present 
purpose. It cannot be disrespectful to others to mention some 
who deserved well of their country in the greatest perils, and but 
little less serious than those experienced in the revolution. Party 
men they were, because none but party men could live in the 
days of Jefferson and Madison. But this they may say of them- 
selves and their associates, and as the last act to be done on this 
side the grave, that they ever acted from purest motives ; that 
their country had no just cause to complain that they did act, but, 
on the contrary, should be ever grateful to them for their resist- 
ance of ill-advised and dangerous measures. 

Harrison Gray Otis was too young to have taken part in the 
revolution; but not to bear arms when the insurrection of 1786- 
87 required the services of all good citizens. He was too young 
to have been a member of the convention which adopted the con- 
stitution; but in 1800 he was in Congress^, an opponent of Jef- 
fersonism ; and was among the embarrassed number who had to 
choose between Jefferson and Burr. From that time to the close 
of Mr. Madison's war, Mr. Otis w r as constantly in Congress, or 
in one or the other of the legislative branches of the state ; and 
for many years at the head of one or the other. He was the ora- 
tor of all popular assemblies ; the guide of popular opinion in all 
the trying scenes of commercial restrictions, embargo and war. 
With a fine person and commanding eloquence, with a clear per- 
ception and patriotic purpose, he was the first among his equals, 
alike ready, at all times, with his pen and his tongue. What 
motive could this gentleman have had, to effect such purposes as 
Mr. Jefferson charged upon him and his associates? Disunion ? 
He, and all rational men knew then, as they know now, that the 
moment the Union is broken, discord, anarchy, civil war and 
despotism must come. They knew then, as now, that a " north- 
ern confederacy" could be effected only by force ; and if to be 



406 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

effected even by consent, what hope of peace or prosperity could 
there be within its limits ; or security from the hostile dispositions 
of those beyond them? It is hardly credible, that even such men 
as Jefferson and Madison, deluded as they were, could have so un- 
derrated the intelligence of northern men, as to have imputed to them 
such designs. If they knew that those imputations were false 
and groundless, there is no apology for having made them but 
this : party, disorganizing, demoralizing, tyrannical party, holds 
all means to be lawful, which can accomplish its purpose. 

There is one man whose name does not appear in conventions, 
nor much in the legislative or popular assemblies, but who had, 
when in these, as at the bar, a fervent and commanding elo- 
quence. But especially he had a powerful influence on public 
opinion through the press. The discussion of public measures 
during these fifteen years, by John Lowell* were published with- 
out his name, in pamphlets. It is improbable that distant gene- 
rations will know (if efforts to preserve civil liberty shall be 
worth their notice, or if they are in condition to understand its 
worth), how much they are indebted to Mr. Lowell. He fear- 
lessly opposed, in masterly reasonings, the disastrous and unprin- 
cipled policy of these fifteen years. His style and manner were 
clear, cogent and convincing. His works were universally read, 
and were invaluable in correcting and enlightening public opin- 
ion. His "Madison's war," one of the most elaborate of his 
works, w r as so independent of all personal consequences which 
might arise, (from the performance of what he held to be his duty 
as a true patriotic citizen, in developing the character of national 
administration,) that his friends were inclined to dissuade him 
from publishing. This country is under the greatest obligation 
to him for his manly perseverance. All the evils which he pro- 
phesied were realized, short of absolute despotism ; and that this 
was not, is to be ascribed only to the better perceptions of the 

* Son of Judge Lowell. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 407 

community of impending perils, in effecting which he labored 
with eminent success.* 

Josiah Quincy was in Congress from 1805 to 1813, and there- 
fore present at the creating of commercial restrictions, embargo 
and war. He was a fearless and eloquent opponent of all those 
measures ; and therein faithfully represented the feelings, wishes 
and sound judgment of his constituents. His speeches are among 
the best records of the character of the times. He drew up the 
admirable address of the minority of Congress. James A. Bay- 
ard, then in the Senate of the United States, from Delaware, ex- 
amined and approved, with the serious responsibility which that 
statement of unquestionable truths involved. Mr. Quincy is still 
before the public, and it would not accord with his own percep- 
tions, to speak of him but in allusion to historical events in former 
years. f 

* It is believed that the following pamphlets were written by Mr. Lowell, though 
none of them bear li is name: 

1. Madison's War. 2. The Boston Rebel. 3. The Road to Peace, Commerce, 
Wealth and Happiness. 4. An Appeal to the People on the Causes and Conse- 
quences of a War with Great Britain. 5. Perpetual War the Policy of Mr. Madi- 
son. 6. Diplomatic Policy of Mr. Madison unveiled. 7. Analysis of the Corre- 
spondence between our administration and Great Britain and France. 8. An Essay 
on the Rights and Duties of Nations relative to Fugitives from Justice ; considered 
with reference to the affair of the Chesapeake. These productions were republished 
in the several states, were applauded by all discerning and honest men, and ob- 
tained for their author distinguished fame. 

■j" Among the speeches preserved of Mr. Quincy, are the following: 

1806. On fortifying the ports and harbors of the United Stales. 

1808. On the first resolution of the committee of foreign relations. 
" On foreign relations. 

' ; On the resolution u> raise 50,000 volunteers. 

1809. On the bill for holding an extra session of Congress. 

1810. On the resolution of Congress, approving the conduct of the Executive to- 
wards Francis J. Jackson, (British minister.) 

1811. On the bill to admit the territory of New Orleans, as a slate, into the Union. 
" On the influence of place and patronage. 

" On the non-intercourse law. 

1812. On maritime protection. 



408 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

Mrtemas Ward (now Chief Justice of the Common Pleas)* was 
the worthy successor of Mr. Quincy. He was present at the 
trying scenes, which occurred in the latter time of the war, in 
the House of Representatives. The speeches of this gentleman 
were grateful to his constituents, as they showed him to be most 
diligent and faithful in maintaining their constitutional rights, and 
in resisting the dangerous encroachments of power. 

James Lloyd was a senator from Massachusetts in these days. 
He was a gentleman of liberal education, and an eminent mer- 
chant. He distinguished himself very honorably in the Senate, 
in many speeches; comprising not only the intelligence of a 
statesman, but a practical knowledge in commerce, which was 
much more rare in the assembly which he addressed. Mr. Lloyd 
demonstrated the folly of the embargo in the clearest manner. 

[It was intended to have described the eminent men, who were 
in Congress during the war, and to have shown what part they 
respectively took in the affairs of the country. But many of them 
are still living, and this discussion may be left to a more distant 
day from these scenes, and to a better delineator.] 

1812. On the pay of non-commissioned officers. 

" On the relief of merchants from penalties incurredon importations of Bri- 
tish goods. 

1813. On raising an additional military force. 

These speeches (among others) will attract the notice of some future historian, 
who desires to know the true character of the times. There were very able men, 
in those days, in both branches, who did their duty. Though the country is deeply 
indebted to Mr. Quincy, he owes one debt to it, which he is very able, and it is to be 
hoped, equally willing to pay. He must have the materials on hand, for an accu- 
rate and just history of the eventful times, in which he was a public man. He is 
already known as an historian, and the time has already come in which he might 
put forth his knowledge of men and things. 

* Since deceased. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 4Q9 



LETTER LXXV. 

March 20, 1834. 

If, in attempting to show the dangers to which republics are 
liable, under the dominion of party rulers ; or if, in attempting 
to weigh the worth of Thomas Jefferson's evidence against a nu- 
merous class of his fellow-citizens, any malignant or unworthy 
feeling has been displayed, the writer is unconscious of it. To- 
wards Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, and their political associates, 
he is influenced by no vindictive or unkind impulse. He readily 
admits, that the Jeffersonian party may have believed they were 
governed by good motives ; but then he insists, that, good as their 
motives may have been, their acts were dangerous to civil liberty, 
and the effect of them ruinous to the country. The people did 
not intend, when they established their government, nor can anv 
citizen, who is worthy to live under it, desire, that all its powers 
and purposes should be perverted to the use and benefit of a few 
men, who are ingenious enough to obtain the control. 

It is well known from history, and from the very nature of 
man, that when such control is obtained, that is, whenever rulers 
assume to have power for their own use and emolument, and not 
for the good of the nation, usurpation must follow. One usurpa- 
tion introduces another. No usurper, (as in case of our "repub- 
lican" friend Napoleon,) computes from the original starting point, 
but always from the one last arrived at. Thomas Jefferson, and 
his selected friends, prescribed to themselves the patriotic labor 
of demolishing federalism and federalists; then, the acquisition 
of power for themselves ; then, the most effectual means of keep- 
ing it ; then, the most certain means of strengthening it, to the 
exclusive use of party ; and finally, the substitution of mere party 
35 



410 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

will for the laws and the constitution itself.* In all this "the 
people" were called on to rejoice and applaud. All was done in 
the name of the people and in the name of liberty. There is no- 
thing new in all this. It is only the common course of usurpa- 
tion, which naturally tends to self-defending despotism, and end- 
ing in bloody tragedy, so often seen in the history of nations. 
Man is man's enemy, and the only creature of the earth who is 
the enemy of his own species. He will ever be so, until refined 
by that morality which Mr. Jefferson did not promote, and chas- 
tened by that religion which he attempted to discredit. 

Every rational man in the United States, of whatsoever party 
he now is, or may have been, must admit the abstract truth, that 
government, in a republic, is a guardianship instituted by the 
people, to prevent them from doing wrong to themselves and to 
each other; and to secure the enjoyment of whatsoever good is 
allowed by the Creator to human life. Whether this guardianship 
has been well or ill conducted, at any time, does not depend on 
what the selected guardians are pleased to say of their own acts, 
but upon the good or evil which they have done in the exercise 
of their trust. 

Thus, it does not depend on presidential messages, on congres- 
sional speeches, on the making of laws, on the execution of them, 
nor on the exercise of executive discretion, nor on the applause 
of venal presses, whether the trust has been righteously performed 
or not ; but on the effect produced on those for whom that trust 
was undertaken. 

"What good can be done, when this public trust, in such a go- 
vernment as ours, is wisely and honestly executed? It can pro- 
tect industry, property, and personal liberty. It can administer 
equal and exact justice to all men. It can prevent, or repel 
foreign aggression. It can keep peace at home. It can secure 

* It is well remembered, that one man, whose shoulders Mr. Madison adorned 
with epaulettes, is reported to have said, that if he could be permitted to use a guil- 
lotine in State Street, for a single hour, he would effectually silence opposition! 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 4H 

to every one the right to do, or not to do all things, consistently 
with the rules intended for the government of all. 

What evil can be done, when this trust is perversely and dis- 
honestly executed? It can corrupt the ignorant and the deceived. 
It can call into energetic action the very worst of human passions 
and cravings. It can hush conscience. It can substitute the 
will of a faction for the law of the land. It can shackle industry, 
and stop the circulation of the life-blood of the social state. It 
can lay excessive burdens on the people, destroy life in domestic 
tumults, or waste the strength, the spirit, and the wealth of a 
nation in war. It can palsy the hand, and close the lips by ter- 
ror. All this it can do, and do it in the name of the people, of 
liberty, and the constitution. 

It is not asked of those who are now alive, but of the posterity 
to which Mr. Jefferson appeals, which of these things were done 
in the days of Washington and Adams — which of them were 
done in the days of Jefferson and Madison ? 

It is to be hoped that the day is yet far off, when there will be 
an American President who will be insensible to the inquisition of 
history. Andrew Jackson may be an exception, as he is a sort 
of lusus reipublicce, held by no rules or laws, and who honestly 
believes his sycophants, that he was "born to command." A 
proposition, this, which he has spared no pains, and has halted at 
no legal or constitutional obstacle to verify. With a head and 
heart not better than Thomas Jefferson had, but free from the 
inconvenience of that gentleman's constitutional timidity, and 
familiar with the sword, he has disclosed the real purpose of the 
American people in fighting the battles of the revolution, and in 
establishing a National Republic, viz. : That the will of An- 
drew Jackson shall be the law and only law of the repub- 
lic ! 

Are the people of the United States so far gone in despotism, 
that they must submit; or can they in any, and in what way, 
wrest their constitution, their personal freedom, their honorable 
fame, the last hope of civil liberty from the grasp of usurpers ? 



412 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

They have a formidable adversary to contend with. There is the 
President, the Vice President, the cabinet proper, " the cabinet 
improper,"* a minority of the Senate, a majority of the House, 
(and such a majority!) the whole host of postmasters, mail-con- 
tractors, revenue officers, district attorneys and marshals, agents, 
sub-agents, clerks and dependents ; in short, all who are in, by 
direct, or circuitous executive patronage. Then there are the 
daring and flagitious presses, that speak to millions, who hear no 
voice but that which they utter. To this well-intrenched and 
strongly fortified camp, add the power obtained by the forcible 
seizure of the whole of the revenues of the United States, to 
be applied in maintaining this terrible combination. But that, 
which is astounding and ludicrous at the same moment, is, that 
this army of patriots announce and maintain, that the people 
know, understand, and approve of all their doings ! No doubt, 
these patriots are sincere and honest. No doubt, they believe 
that this whole country, its people, its institutions, the products 
of the " sweat of the brow," do of right belong to them, because 
they have no other sense of right than the will and power to 
command them. In a less enlightened state of the world than the 
present, the only obstacle was the physical force to be encoun- 
tered; if this could be subdued, terror easily held in subjection a 
broken spirit. There are terrible examples of such truths, in the 
forty-seven years next preceding the establishment of Augustus 
Csesar on the ruins of the Roman republic. We have seen the 
same thing in these times in the " republican Emperor." Man 
has not changed his nature in America. If he is here more 
intelligent than those who have been, his craving ambition has 
partaken of the progress of improvement. Its arts do not rely on 
force, but they are the more dangerous, since they are more adroit 
and cunning. 

Our republic will endure many years more, because our citizens 
will avail themselves of the right of suffrage, when they can be 

* Webster's Speech at Worcester, October, 1832. 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 413 

sufficiently awakened to impending perils. When this remedy 
fails to produce the necessary changes, it will only aid in transfer- 
ring us to despotism. How is this country to escape the Jeffer- 
sonian vice of electing partisans? No doubt every President 
must be elected by a party ; but if he prove himself to be a par- 
tisan in office, he is a tyrant at heart, and is no more worthy of 
the confidence of those who voted for him, than of those who voted 
against him. 

At this day, (March 10, 1834,) there is not the least doubt, 
that a large majority of the American people are disgusted and 
astonished by the usurpations of Andrew Jackson ; and by the 
dominion which irresponsible individuals have obtained over his 
official will. If this majority (who are sound constitutionalists), 
were as united in their remedy as they are in reprobating the 
wrong, the course to be pursued would be plain and easy. It is 
naturally to be expected, that in a republic so extensive as that 
of the United States, and in which there are eminent men bet- 
ter known within the limits of their personal action than they 
can be all over the Union, there will be decided preferences ; and 
such as may not be easily relinquished. But may it not be ex- 
pected, when the whole country is in peril and struggling to es- 
cape from the grasp of despotism, that all minor considerations 
will be yielded? May it not be expected from the eminent men 
who may be considered as candidates, that they will prefer the 
security and happiness of their country to themselves? Such 
men, surely, will not permit disunion among themselves to con- 
stitute successful strength in their common adversary. The con- 
dition of the country seriously calls on such men to make some 
sacrifices. The constitutionalists, no doubt, would hold the con- 
cessions of honorable ambition on this occasion, as the highest 
proof of magnanimity. 

By such devotion to the true interests of the country among 
parties, and their preferred citizens, the American people may 
entertain the hope, that the suffrages of any abused and indignant 
community will unite, in some high-minded, virtuous, and trust- 

35* 



414 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

worthy person, who may be able to bless this country with an 
administration like that of Washington. They can have but 
one requisition to make, as the condition of their suffrage, that he 
will put his veto to the reign of party, and will be the President 
of the United States. 

To the young men of the country, into whose hands these 
pages may chance to come, it may not be obtrusive to offer a 
word of counsel. Youthful aspiration naturally looks to the offices 
of the republic ; and this is proper, when motives are pure, and 
intelligence competent. But if it be one's self only that is cared 
for, there are abundant proofs, that this is the last country on 
earth, in which elective office should be desired, and the very best, 
(when well governed,) in which to hold one's own office, and ad- 
here to one's own place of business. One could easily make a 
long list of paupers, who were such from having sought and 
obtained high places. Patriots and their countrymen estimate 
public services very differently; and if one labors for any other 
reward than the consciousness of performing duties, he must con- 
tract with the grave to spare him the sense of hearing. Ameri- 
cans are munificent in eulogies of the departed. These do no 
evil but that of misrepresenting historical truth ; and nothing is 
hazarded in praising the dead, who are no longer aspirants for 
place and power. Such considerations absolve no man from the 
duties of a citizen. It is the first of political duties to be a con- 
sistent, intelligent, constitutional republican. If one has no de- 
sire for office, still it is his duty to hold up to rulers, that they will 
be justly but severely judged of. The more one studies the insti- 
tutions of his country, state and national, and the more he com- 
pares them with those of any other countries, ancient or modern, 
the more will he be convinced, that they deserve his best exertions 
to preserve and perpetuate them. Every young man, who is 
worthy of living under such glorious institutions, should form and 
maintain opinions; not such as spring up in the hot-bed of party 
excitement; not such as begin and end, in getting this man in, 
and keeping that man out; but his opinions should rise on the 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 415 

broad and firm basis of constitutional right. What is it, in fact, 
to nine hundred and ninety-nine men in every thousand, who is 
the Governor of a state, or the President of the United States, so 
that he is an able, virtuous, and conscientious man, and disdains 
the influence of corrupting party ? 

There is one solemn truth, which all young men, who wish to 
live in pure republican government, must keep in mind, viz. : 
That everything, which the Creator has given for man's security 
and happiness, comes with an inseparable condition, that he shall 
bestow his care upon it, to keep it in a proper state to impart the 
benefit for which it was designed. This truth is apparent to 
every one who considers his person, his heart, his mind, his worldly 
possessions. This truth is not less applicable to political govern- 
ment, (the very thing of all others most easily perverted,) with 
which all that can be called good is necessarily connected. The 
duty of preservation and proper use is given, by election, (but 
not for their exclusive use and benefit,) to rulers. Constituents 
are faithless to themselves, and must and will suffer the conse- 
quences of perfidy, if they permit rulers to separate themselves, 
and set up an exclusive dominion in their own right. 

The continually besetting danger lies in the cupidity and am- 
bition of a class of men, who understand the art of separating 
mere numbers from intelligence and property. They do this by 
instilling into these numbers a belief, that they have a separate 
interest from all others in the community. This is a profitable 
field to cultivate, because it is manured with all the perversions 
of which human nature is capable. There never has been in 
the world any community, in which it was so entirely false, that 
the members of it have separate and distinct interests. On the 
contrary, no community ever existed, in which the welfare of 
each one so entirely depended on the welfare of all. There can 
be nothing more false, flagitious and wicked, than to inculcate, 
that the rich and the poor have separate interests, as fellow-citi- 
zens. They must suffer and enjoy together, in measures which 
affect the whole of society. The most astute ingenuity cannot 



416 FAMILIAR LETTERS 

point out a case in which a man can use property, by law, bene- 
ficially to himself, and injuriously to others. If he use property 
injuriously to others, against law, there is law enough to stop 
him. Suppose there were no men who were able to build rail- 
roads, undertake voyages, build houses, carry on manufacturing, 
&.c, what would become of those who must be employed, or 
starve ? The proportion between laborers and employment in this 
country is, and long must be such, that those who have labor to 
exchange for wages, must rather have the advantage, and to a 
most extraordinary degree, compared with any other country on 
the globe. That which the young citizens owe it to themselves 
and to their country to do is, to examine rationally and dutifully 
into these popular delusions; and not to permit interested, or 
ignorant partisans to defraud them of their republican inheritance, 
by exciting one class of citizens against another. 

The preservation of the Union is implied in supporting and 
preserving the constitution. The writer, readily admitting to all 
men the same independence in matters of opinion, which he 
claims to exercise for himself, is sincerely convinced, that some 
of the best intended measures now going on in the New England 
states, will do more towards breaking up the Union, than all that 
"Anglomen, monarchists, and traitors" could have done, if all 
which Mr. Jefferson said of them were as true as he wished to 
have it believed to be. Whatever philanthropists and Christians 
may say and feel, as to the abolition of slavery, and however 
sound they may be in their abstract notions, this is a subject in 
which those dwelling in non-slaveholding states have not the 
right to interfere, but are positively forbidden to do so, by the 
constitution and laws. All-sufficient as these difficulties may be 
to arrest one's progress, these reformers overlook the fact, that 
their measures can do no possible good, while they are sure to 
effect the most serious evil — evil, which will be felt by irritated 
reaction, on all the most precious interests of the East and the 
North. This policy, if pursued, will inevitably conclude in the 



ON PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 417 

separation of the Union ; and then an Andrew Jackson may be a 
blessing. 

As to remedies for the afflictions and degradations which our 
republic is now suffering, it is nearly three years before there can 
be any relief in the executive department. In this space of time 
the people must suffer and mourn. But in affliction there is wis- 
dom ; for in affliction men consider. Already, the true principles 
of our institutions attract deserved attention. 

Our citizens are reflecting on their duties to themselves, to each 
other, and to successors. Everything is to be hoped from this 
state of things. To the good sense of the people only can we 
look for the salvation of the republic. If this fail, the American 
people will have proved, what European theorists have always 
said they would, that mankind, under the most favorable circum- 
stances, are incapable of self-government ; and, that it is the 
ordained destiny of men, to waste themselves in vindictive and 
bloody factions, till they welcome despotism as the only chance 
for repose. 



APPENDIX, 



CONTAINING 



I. John Jay's Letter to Richard Peters on Washington's Farewell 
Address. 

II. The Evidence published by James A. Bayard's sons in refuta- 
tion of Mr. Jefferson's calumny. 

III. Mr. Walsh on French Conscription : — Extract from his Work. 



APPENDIX. 



WASHINGTON'S VALEDICTORY. 

LETTER FROM THE HON. JOHN JAY TO THE HON. RICHARD PETERS. 

(Referred to in Letter XXI.) 
(copy.) 

Bedford, March 29th, 1811. 

Dear Sir, — I have received your letter of the 14th ult., and also 
the book on Plaster of Paris, which you was so obliging as to send 
me, and for which accept my thanks. 

Your letter conveyed to me the first and only information I have 
received, that a copy of President Washington's Valedictory Address, 
has been found among the papers of General Hamilton, and in his 
handwriting ; and that a certain gentleman had also a copy of it, in 
the same hand-writing. 

This intelligence is unpleasant and unexpected. Had the address 
been one of those official papers, which, in the course of affairs, the 
Secretary of the proper department might have prepared, and the 
President have signed, these facts would have been unimportant; but. 
it was a personal act, of choice, not of official duty, and it was so 
connected with other obvious considerations, as that he only could 
with propriety write it. In my opinion, President Washington must 
have been sensible of this propriety, and therefore strong evidence 
would be necessary to make me believe that he violated it. Whether 
he did or did not, is a question which naturally directs our attention 
to whatever affords presumptive evidence respecting it, and leads the 
mind into a long train of correspondent reflections. I will give you 
a summary of those which have occurred to me ; not because I think 
them necessary to settle the point in question, for the sequel will show 
that they are not, but because the occasion invites me to take the 
pleasure of reviewing and bearing testimony to the merits of my de- 
parted friend. 
36 



422 APPENDIX. 

It is to be presumed from these facts, that General Hamilton was 
the real, and the President only the reputed author of that address. 
Although they countenance such a presumption, yet I think its found- 
ation will be found too slight and shallow, to resist that strong and full 
stream of counter evidence, which flows from the conduct and charac- 
ter of that great man ; a character not blown up into transient splen- 
dor by the breath of adulation, but which, being composed of his great 
and memorable deeds, stands, and will forever stand, a glorious monu- 
ment of human excellence. 

So prone, however, is " poor human nature" to dislike and depre- 
ciate the superiority of its cotemporaries, that when these facts come 
to be generally known, (and generally known they will be,) many, 
with affected regret and hesitation, will infer and hint that Washington 
had less greatness of talent, and less greatness of mind, than his friends 
and admirers ascribed to him. Nor will the number of those be few, 
who, from personal or party inducements, will artfully encourage, and 
diligently endeavor to give currency to such imputations. On the 
other hand, there are men of candor and judgment, (and time will in- 
crease their number,) who, aiming only at truth, will cheerfully trace 
and follow its footsteps, and, on finding, will gladly embrace it. Urged 
by this laudable motive, they will attentively examine the history of 
his life ; and in it they will meet with such numerous proofs of his 
knowledge and experience of men and things in general, and of our 
national affairs in particular, as to silence all doubts of his ability to 
conceive and express every idea in that address. A careful perusal 
of that history will convince them that the principles of policy which 
it recommends, as rules for the conduct of others, are precisely those 
by which he regulated his own. 

There have been in the world but two systems or schools of policy ; 
the one founded on the great principles of wisdom and rectitude, the 
other on cunning and its various artifices. To the first of these be- 
longed Washington, and all the other worthies of every country who 
ascended to the Temple of Honor through the Temple of Virtue. 
The doctrines, maxims and precepts of this school have been ex- 
plained and inculcated by the ablest writers, ancient and modern. In 
all civilized countries -they are known, though often neglected; and 
in free states have always been publicly commended and taught; they 
crossed the Atlantic with our forefathers, and in our days particularly, 
have not only engaged the time and attention of students, but have 
been constantly and eloquently displayed by able men in our senates 
and assemblies. What reason can there be to suppose that Washing- 
ton did not understand those subjects? If it be asked, what these 
subjects comprehend or relate to, the answer is this, — they relate to 



APPENDIX. 423 

the nature and duties of man, to his propensities and passions, his 
virtues and vices, his habits and prejudices, his real and relative wants 
and enjoyments, his capacities for social and national happiness, and 
the means by which, according to time, place, and other existing cir- 
cumstances, it is in a greater or less degree, to be procured, preserved, 
and increased. From a profound investigation of these subjects, en- 
lightened by experience, result all that knowledge, and those maxims 
and precepts of sound policy, which enable legislators and rulers to 
manage and govern public affairs wisely and justly. 

By what other means than the practical use of this knowledge, 
could Washington have been able to lead and govern an army hastily- 
collected from various parts, and who brought with them to the field, 
all the license and all the habits which they had indulged at home ? 
Could he, by the force of orders and proclamations, have constrained 
them to render to him that obedience, confidence, and warm attach- 
ment which he so soon acquired, and which, throughout all vicissi- 
tudes and distresses, continued constant and undiminished to the last? 
By what other means, could he have been able to frustrate the de- 
signs of dark cabals, and the unceasing intrigues of envious competi- 
tors, and the arts of the opposing enemy ? By what other means 
could he have been able, in so masterly a manner, to meet and manage 
all those perplexing embarrassments, which the revolutionary substi- 
tution of a new government, — which the want of that power in Con- 
gress which they had not, and of that promptitude which no delibera- 
tive body can have, — which the frequent destitution and constant 
uncertainty of essential supplies, — which the incompetency of indi- 
viduals on whom much depended, the perfidy of others, and the mis- 
management of many, could not fail to engender? We know, and 
history will inform posterity, that, from the first of his military career, 
he had to meet and encounter, and surmount, a rapid succession of 
formidable difficulties, even down to the time when his country was 
enabled, by the success of their arms, to obtain the honorable peace 
which terminated the war. His high and appointed course being then 
finished, he disdained the intimations of lawless ambition to prolong 
it. He disbanded the army under circumstances which required no 
common degree of policy or virtue ; and with universal admiration 
and plaudits, descended, joyfully and serenely, into the shades of 
retirement. They who ascribe all this to the guidance and protection 
of Providence, do well ; but let them recollect, that Providence sel- 
dom interposes in human affairs, but through the agency of human 
means. 

When at a subsequent and alarming period, the nation found that 
their affairs had gone into confusion, and that clouds portending dan- 



424 APPENDIX. 

ger and distress, were rising over them in every quarter, they insti- 
tuted under his auspices a more efficient government, and unanimously 
committed the administration of it to him. Would they have done 
this without the highest confidence in his political talents and wisdom? 
Certainly not — no novice in navigation was ever unanimously called 
upon to take the helm or command of a ship on the point of running 
aground among the breakers. This universal confidence would have 
proved a universal mistake, had it not been justified by the event. 
The unanimous opinion entertained and declared by a whole people 
in favor of any fellow-citizen is rarely erroneous, especially in times 
of alarm and calamity. 

To delineate the course, and enumerate the measures which he 
took to arrive at success, would be to write a volume. The firmness 
and policy with which he overcame the obstacles placed in his way 
by the derangement of national affairs, by the devices of domestic 
demagogues and foreign agents, as well as by the deleterious influ- 
ences of the French Revolution, need not be particularized. Our re- 
cords, and histories, and memories, render it unnecessary. It is suf- 
ficient to say, and it can be said with truth, that his administration 
raised the nation out of confusion into order, out of degradation and 
distress into reputation and prosperity ; it found us withering ; it left 
us flourishing. 

Is it to be believed that, after having thus led the nation out of a 
bewildered state, and guided them for many years from one degree of 
prosperity to another, he was not qualified, on retiring, to advise them 
how to proceed and go on ? And what but this, is the object and the 
burden of his Valedictory Address ? He was persuaded that, as the 
national welfare had been recovered and established, so it could only 
be preserved and prolonged by a continued and steady adherence to 
those principles of sound policy and impartial justice, which had in- 
variably directed his administration. 

Although the knowledge of them had been spread and scattered 
among the people, here a little and there a little, yet, being desirous 
to mark even the last day of his public life by some act of public 
utility, he addressed and presented them to his fellow-citizens in points 
of light so clear and strong, as to make deep impressions on the pub- 
lic mind. These last parental admonitions of this Father of his coun- 
try, were gratefully received and universally admired ; but the expe- 
rience of ages informs us, that it is less difficult to give good advice than 
to prevail on men to follow it. 

Such, and so obvious, is the force of the preceding considerations, 
as to render doubts of the President's ability to give the advice con- 
tained in the address, too absurd to have many serious advocates. 



APPENDIX. 425 

But it would not surprise me, if certain classical gentlemen, associat- 
ing the facts you mention with the style and fashion of the address, 
should intimate that his ability to compose it substantially in his 
mind, does not prove that he was also capable of communicating his 
advice in a paper so well written. Let these gentlemen recollect the 
classical maxim which they learned at school : 

" Scribendi recte, sapcre est, et principium, et foils." 

They may also be referred to another classical maxim, which 
teaches us, that they who well understand their subject, will be at no 
loss for words : 

" Verbaque provisiam rem non invita sequeritur." 

But his ability to write well need not be proved by the application of 
maxims; it is established by facts. 

We are told to judge of a tree by its fruit; let us in like manner 
judge of his pen by its performances. Few men who have had so 
little leisure have written so much. His public letters alone are volu- 
minous, and public opinion has done justice to their merits. Many 
of them have been published, and they who read them will be con- 
vinced, that at the period of the address he had not to learn how to 
write well. But it may be remarked, that the address is more highly 
finished than the letters, and so it ought to be ; that address was to be 
presented to the whole nation, and on no common occasion ; it was 
intended for the present and future generations ; it was to be read in 
this country and in foreign countries ; and to be criticised, not only by 
affectionate friends and impartial judges, but also by envious and ma- 
lignant enemies. It was an address which, according as it should or 
should not correspond with his exalted character and fame, would 
either justify or impeach the prevailing opinion of his talents or wis- 
dom. Who, therefore, can wonder that he should bestow more 
thought and time, and pains, on that address, than on a letter ? 

Although in the habit of depending, ultimately, on his own judg- 
ment, yet no man was more solicitous to obtain and collect light on 
every question and measure on which he had to decide. He knew 
that authors, like parents, are not among the first to discover imper- 
fections in their offspring, and that consideration would naturally in- 
duce him to imitate the example of those ancient and modern writers, 
(among whom were statesmen, generals, and even men of consular 
and royal dignity,) who submitted their compositions to the judgments 
of their friends, before they put the last hand to them. Those 
friends would make notes of whatever defects they observed in the 
draft, and of the correspondent amendments which they deemed 

36* 



426 APPENDIX. 

proper. If they found that the arrangement would be improved, they 
•would advise certain transpositions, — if the connection between any 
of the relative parts was obscure, they would make it more apparent, 
— if a conclusion had better be left to implication than expressed, 
they would strike it out, and so vice versa, if an additional remark or 
allusion would give force or light to a sentiment or proposition, they 
would propose it, — where a sentence was too long, they would divide 
it, — they would correct redundancies, change words less apt for 
words more apt, &c. &c. &c. To correct a composition in this way 
is to do a friendly office, but to prepare a new one, and offer it to the 
author as a substitute for his own, would deserve a different appella- 
tion. 

Among those to whose judgment and candor President Washington 
would commit such an interesting and delicate task, where is the man 
to be found, who would have the hardihood to say to him in sub- 
stance, though in terms ever so nice and courtly — " Sir, I have ex- 
amined and considered your draft of an address — it will not do — it is 
really good for nothing ; but, sir, I have taken the trouble to write a 
proper one for you, and I now make you a present of it. I advise 
you to adopt it, and to pass it on the world as your own ; the cheat 
will never be discovered, for you may depend on my secrecy. Sir, I 
have inserted in it a paragraph that will give the public a good opinion 
of your modesty. I will read it to you ; it is in these words. 

" ' In the discharge of this trust I will only say, that I have with 
good intentions contributed towards the organization and administra- 
tion of the government, the best exertions of which a very fallible 
judgment was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of the inferi- 
ority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still 
more, in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence 
of myself.' " ' 

If it be possible to find a man among those whom he esteemed, capa- 
ble of offering to him such a present, it' is impossible to believe that 
President Washington was the man to whom such a present would 
have been acceptable. They who knew President Washington, and 
his various endowments, qualifications and virtues, know that (aggre- 
gately considered) they formed a tout ensemble, which has rarely 
been equaled, and perhaps never excelled. 

Thus much for presumptive evidence ; I will now turn your atten- 
tion to some that is direct. 

The history (if it may be so called) of the address is not unknown 
to me ; but as I came to the knowledge of it under implied confidence, 
I doubted, when I first received your letter, whether I ought to disclose 
it. On more mature reflection I became convinced that if President 



APPENDIX. 427 

Washington were now alive, and informed of the facts in question, he 
would not only authorize, but also desire me to reduce it to writing; 
that, when necessary, it might be used to invalidate the imputation to 
which those facts give color. 

This consideration terminated my doubts. I do not think that a 
disclosure is necessary at this moment, but I fear such a moment will 
arrive. Whether I shall then be alive, or in capacity to give tes- 
timony, is so uncertain, that in order to avoid the risk of either, I 
shall now reduce it to writing, and commit it to your care and discre- 
tion, " De bene esse," as the lawyers say. 

Some time before the address appeared, Colonel (afterwards Gene- 
ral) Hamilton informed me that he had received a letter from President 
Washington, and with it the draft of a Farewell Address, which the 
President had prepared, and on which he requested our opinion. He 
then proposed that we should fix on a day for an interview at my 
house on the subject. A day was accordingly appointed, and on that 
day Colonel Hamilton attended. He observed to me in words to this 
effect, that after having read and examined the draft, it appeared to 
him to be susceptible of improvement; that he thought the easiest 
and best way was to leave the draft untouched, and in its fair state ; 
and to write the whole over, with such amendments, alterations, and 
corrections, as he thought were advisable, and that he had done so ; 
he then proposed to read it, and we proceeded deliberately to discuss 
and consider it, paragraph by paragraph, until the whole met with our 
mutual approbation. Some amendments were made during the inter- 
view, but none of much importance. 

Although this business had not been hastily dispatched, yet, aware 
of the consequences of such a paper, I suggested the giving it a further 
critical examination; but he declined it, saying he was pressed for 
time, and was anxious to return the draft to the President without 
delay. 

It afterwards occurred to me that a certain proposition was ex- 
presed in terms too general and unqualified; and I hinted it in a letter 
to the President. As the business took the course above mentioned, a 
recurrence to the draft was unnecessary, and it was not read. There 
was this advantage in the course pursued ; the President's draft re- 
mained (as delicacy required) fair and not obscured by interlineations, 
&c. By comparing it with the paper sent with it, he would immedi- 
ately observe the particular emendations and corrections that were 
proposed, and would find them standing in their intended places. 
Hence he was enabled to review, and to decide on the whole matter, 
with much greater clearness and facility than if he had received them 



428 APPENDIX. 

in separate and detached notes, and with detailed references to the 
pages and lines, where they were advised to be introduced. 

With great esteem and regard, I am, dear sir, your obedient ser- 
vant, John Jay. 

The Hon. Richard Peters, Esq. 



REFUTATION OF MR. JEFFERSON S CALUMNY OF JAMES A. BAYARD. 

(Referred to in Letter XXXVII.) 

Wilmington, December 6, 1830. 

Sir, — Our attention Avas first drawn to the writings of the late 
Thomas Jefferson, by the proceedings in the Senate of the United 
States, on the 28th of January last, in which a charge affecting the 
character of our father, the late James A. Bayard, was met and re- 
futed. 

In a subsequent part of the work, at page 521 of the same volume, 
there is another statement more offensive and equally groundless, 
which the duty we owe to the memory of a parent, would not suffer 
us to pass over in silence. We have, therefore, to request of your 
kindness the publication of the remarks in the Senate, together with 
the enclosed documents, which would have been sooner given to the 
public, but from the delay necessarily incident to procuring some of 
them. They relate to a transaction which forms part of the history 
of the country, and we feel confident that their publication is all that 
is requisite to protect the reputation of our father against such calum- 
nies, let the source be what it may from which they emanate. 
Respectfully, your obedient servants, 

Richard H. Bayard, 
James A. Bayard. 

Mr. Foot's Resolution. 

The Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution, moved by 
Mr. Foot, respecting surveys of the public lands. 

Mr. Benton being entitled to the floor, 

Mr. Clayton said, that he desired the permission of the Senator 
from Missouri, (Mr. Benton,) who was entitled to the floor, to call the 



APPENDIX. 429 

attention of two of the honorable members of this body, Mr. Smith 
of Maryland, and Mr. Livingston of Louisiana, to a passage in a book, 
which had been cited in this debate by the Senator from South Caro- 
lina, (Mr. Hayne,) as authority on another subject. He did not rise 
for the purpose of discussing the resolution itself. In the wide range 
of the debate here, the north-eastern and southern sections of the 
country had been arrayed against each other. He listened to the dis- 
cussion without any intention of participating in it, while the state, 
which he had the honor in part to represent, had escaped unscathed 
by the controversy. Though favorable to the resolution, as a mere 
proposition to inquire, he felt but little interest in such contentions 
between the north and south ; and his only desire in relation to that 
subject was, that the warmth of the discussion might have no tendency 
to alienate one portion of the country from the other. But his atten- 
tion had been called by a number of members of this House, to a 
passage in the same book, another part of which had been referred to 
by the Senator from South Carolina. That passage charged an illus- 
trious statesman, Avho formerly occupied the seat of a Senator here, 
and whose memory and fame were dear to himself, and to the people 
he represented, with atrocious corruption, of which he was convinced 
that great and good man could never have been guilty ; and as the 
witnesses referred to in the book itself, were present and ready to give 
testimony to set the charge at rest, he hoped he should be pardoned 
for referring to the objectional passage in their presence. 

[He then read from the fourth volume of Jefferson's Memoirs, page 
515, (the same volume which had been brought into the Senate by 
General Hayne,) the following passage:] 

"February the 12th, 1801. Edward Livingston 'tells me' that 
Bayard applied to-day or last night, to General Samuel Smith, and 
represented to him the expediency of coming over to the states who 
vote for Burr; that there was nothing in the way of appointment which 
he might not command, and particularly mentioned the secretaryship 
of the navy. Smith asked him if he was authorized to make the 
offer. He said he was authorized. Smith told this to Livingston, 
and to W. C. Nicholas, who confirmed it to me," &c. 

He then called upon the Senators from Maryland and Louisiana, 
referred to in this passage, to disprove the statement here made. 

Mr. Smith, of Maryland, rose and said, that he had read the para- 
graph before he came here to-day, and was, therefore, aware of its 
import. He had not the most distant recollection that Mr. Bayard 
had ever made such a proposition to him. Mr. Bayard, said he, and 
myself, though politically opposed, were intimate personal friends, 
and he was an honorable man. Of all men Mr. Bayard would have 



430 APPENDIX. 

been the last to make such a proposition to any man; and I am con- 
fident that he had too much respect for me to have made it, under any 
circumstances. I never received from any man any such proposition. 
Mr. Livingston of Louisiana said, that, as to the precise question 
which had been put to him by the Senator from Delaware, he must 
say, that having taxed his recollection, as far as it could go, on so 
remote a transaction, he had no remembrance of it. 

Washington, February 6, 1830. 
Dear Sir — In reply to your letter of yesterday, just received, I 
have to inform you that the report of my answer in the National In- 
telligencer, as made in the Senate, to the question put to me by Mr. 
Clayton, is in substance correct, and I am 

Your obedient servant, 
R. H. Bayard, Esq. S. Smith. 

In the year 1805 a suit was pending in the State of New York, 
instituted by Aaron Burr against James Cheetham for a libel. It is 
supposed to have arisen out of the Presidential election in the House 
of Representatives, February, 1801. Mr. Bayard was examined as a 
witness, in that year, on many interrogatories, the nature of which 
may be understood by the answers thereto, which (excepting the 
formal parts) were as follows : £The deposition was taken at Cheet- 
ham's motion.] "As a member of the House of Representatives I 
paid a visit of ceremony to the plaintiff on the fourth of March, in 
the year one thousand eight hundred and one, and was introduced to 
him. I had no acquaintance with him before that period. There 
was an equality of electoral votes for Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr, 
and the choice of one of them did, of consequence, devolve on the 
House of Representatives. The House, resolved into states, balloted 
for a President a number of times, the exact number is not at present 
in my recollection, before a choice was made. The frequency of bal- 
loting was occasioned by the preference given by the federal side of 
the House to Mr. Burr. With the exception of Mr. Huger of South 
Carolina, I recollect no federal member who did not concur in the 
general course of balloting for Mr. Burr. I cannot name each mem- 
ber. The federal members at that time composed a majority of the 
House, though not of the states. I know of no measures but those 
of argument and persuasion which were used to secure the election of 
Mr. Burr to the Presidency. Several gentlemen of the federal party 
doubted the practicability of electing Mr. Burr, and the policy of at- 
tempting it. Before the election came on, there were several meetings 
of the party to consider the subject. It was frequently debated, and 



APPENDIX. 431 

most of the gentlemen who had adopted a decided opinion in favor of 
his election, employed their influence and address to convince those 
who doubted of the propriety of the measure. I cannot tell whether 
Mr. Burr was acquainted with what passed at our meetings. But I 
neither knew nor heard of any letter being written to him on the sub- 
ject. He never was informed, nor have I reason to believe, otherwise 
than inference from the open professions and public course pursued 
by the federal party, that he was apprised that an attempt would be 
made to secure his election. Mr. Burr, or any person on his behalf, 
never did communicate to me in writing or otherwise, nor to any other 
persons of which I have any knowledge, that any measures had been 
suggested, or would be pursued, to secure his election. Preceding the 
day of the election in the course of the session, the federal members 
of Congress had a number of general meetings, the professed and sole 
purpose of which was, to consider the propriety of giving their sup- 
port to the election of Mr. Burr. The general sentiment of the party 
was strongly in his favor. Mr. Huger, I think, could not be brought 
to vote for him. Mr. Craik and Mr. Baer of Maryland, and myself, 
were those who acquiesced with the greatest difficulty and hesitation. 
I did not believe Mr. Burr could be elected, and thought it vain to 
make the attempt. But I was chiefly influenced by the current of 
public sentiment, which I thought it neither safe nor politic to coun- 
teract. It was, however, determined by the party, without consulting 
Mr. Burr, to make the experiment, whether he could be elected. Mr. 
Ogden never was authorized nor requested by me, nor any member 
of the House, to my knowledge, to call upon Mr. Burr, and to make 
any propositions to him of any kind or nature. I remember Mr. Og- 
den's being at Washington while the election was depending. I spent 
one or two evenings in his company, at Stiller's Hotel, in small par- 
ties, and we recalled an acquaintance of very early life, which had 
been suspended by a separation of eighteen or twenty years. I spent 
not a moment with Mr. Ogden in private. It was reported he was an 
agent for Mr. Burr, or it was understood that he was in possession of 
declarations of Mr. Burr, that he would serve as President if elected. 
I never questioned him on the subject. Although I considered Mr. 
Burr, personally, better qualified to fill the office of President than 
Mr. Jefferson, yet for a reason above suggested, I felt no anxiety for 
his election, and I presumed if Mr. Ogden came on any errand from 
Mr. Burr, or was desirous of making any disclosure relative to his 
election, he would do it without any application from me. But Mr. 
Ogden, or any other person, never did make any communication to 
me from Mr. Burr, nor do I remember having any conversation with 
him relative to the election. I never had any communication directly 



432 APPENDIX. 

or indirectly with Mr. Burr, in relation to his election to the Presi- 
dency. I was one of those who thought, from the beginning, that the 
election of Mr. Burr was not practicable. The sentiment was fre- 
quently and openly expressed. I remember it was generally said by 
those who wished a perseverance in the opposition to Mr. Jefferson, 
that several democratic states were more disposed to vote for Mr. Burr 
than for Mr. Jefferson ; that out of complaisance to the known inten- 
tion of the party, they would vote a decent length of time for Mr. 
Jefferson, and as soon as they could excuse themselves by the im- 
perious situation of affairs, would give their votes for Mr. Burr, the 
man they really preferred. The states relied upon for this change, 
were New York, New Jersey, Vermont and Tennessee. I never, 
however, understood that any assurance to this effect came from Mr. 
Burr. Early in the election, it was reported that Mr. Edward Liv- 
ingston, the representative of the city of New York, was the confi- 
dential agent of Mr. Burr, and that Mr. Burr had committed himself 
entirely to the discretion of Mr. Livingston, having agreed to adopt 
all his acts. I took an occasion to sound Mr. Livingston on the sub- 
ject, and intimated, that having it in my power to terminate the con- 
test, I should do so, unless he could give me some assurance that we 
might calculate upon a change in the votes of some of the members 
of his party. Mr. Livingston stated, that he felt no great concern as 
to the event of the election, but he disclaimed any agency from Mr. 
Burr's designing to co-operate in support of his election. I did re- 
reive, in the course of the winter of eighteen hundred and one, seve- 
ral letters from General Hamilton upon the subject of the election, but 
the name of David A. Ogden is not mentioned in any of them. The 
general design and effect of these letters, was to persuade me to vote 
for Mr. Jefferson, and not for Mr. Burr. The letters contain very 
strong reasons, and a very earnest opinion against the election of Mr. 
Burr. I repeat, that I know of no means used to promote the election 
of Mr. Burr but persuasion. I am wholly ignorant of what the plain- 
tiff was apprised of in relation to the election, as I had no communi- 
cation with him directly or indirectly ; and as to the expectation of a 
change of votes from Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Burr, I never knew of a 
better ground for it, than the opinions and calculations of a number of 
members." 

To the interrogatory on the part of the plaintiff, the deponent an- 
swers : " Having yielded, with Messrs. Craik and Baer of Maryland, 
to the strong desire of the great body of the party with whom we 
usually acted, and agreed to vote for Mr. Burr, and those gentlemen 
and myself being governed by the same views and motives, we pledged 
ourselves to each other, to pursue the same line of conduct, and act 



APPENDIX. 433 

together. We felt that some concession was due to the judgment of 
a great majority of our political friends who differed from us in opin- 
ion, but we determined that no consideration should make us lose 
sight for a moment, of the necessity of a President being chosen. 
We, therefore, resolved, that as soon as it was fairly ascertained 
that Mr. Burr could not be elected, to give our votes to Mr. Jefferson. 
General Morris of Vermont, shortly after acceded to this arrangement. 
The result of the ballot of the states had uniformly been, eight states 
for Mr. Jefferson, six for Mr. Burr, and two divided. Mr. Jefferson 
wanted the vote of one state only ; those three gentlemen belonged 
to the divided states ; I held the vote of the state of Delaware ; it 
was, therefore, in the power of either of us to terminate the election. 
Those gentlemen, knowing the strong interest of my state to have a 
President, and knowing the sincerity of my determination to make 
one, left it to me to fix the time when the opposition should cease, 
and to make terms, if any could be accomplished, with the friends of 
Mr. Jefferson. I took pains to disclose this state of things in such a 
manner, that it might be known to the friends of Mr. Burr, and to 
those gentlemen who were believed to be most disposed to change 
their votes in his favor. I repeatedly stated to many gentlemen with 
whom I was acting, that it was a vain thing to protract the election, as 
it had become manifest, that Mr. Burr would not assist us, and as we 
could do nothing without his aid. I expected under these circum- 
stances, if there were any latent engines at work in Mr. Burr's favor, 
the plan of operations would be disclosed to me ; but although I had 
the power, and threatened to terminate the election, I had not even an 
intimation from any friend of Mr. Burr, that it would be desirable to 
them to protract it. I never did discover, that Mr. Burr used the least 
influence to promote the object we had in view. And being com- 
pletely persuaded that Mr. Burr would not co-operate with us, I de- 
termined to end the contest by voting for Mr. Jefferson. I publicly 
announced the intention which I designed to carry into effect the next 
day. In the morning of the day, there was a general meeting of the 
party, where it was generally admitted, that Mr. Burr could not be 
elected ; but some thought it was better to persist in our vote and to 
go without a President, rather than to elect Mr. Jefferson. The 
greater number, however, wished the election terminated and a Presi- 
dent made, and in the course of the day the manner was settled which 
was afterwards adopted to end the business. 

Mr. Burr, probably, might have put an end sooner to the election 
by coming forward and declaring that he would not serve if chosen. 
But I have no reason to believe, and never did think, that he interfered, 
37 



434 APPENDIX. 

even to the point of personal influence, to obstruct the election of Mr. 
Jefferson, or to promote his own. 

(The following is a letter from Mr. Bayard to General Hamilton.) 

Washington, January 7, 1801. 

Dear Sir, — I have been but a few days in this city, but since my 
arrival have had the pleasure to receive the letter which you did me 
the honor to write on the 27th ult. I am fully sensible of the great 
importance of the subject to which it relates, and am, therefore, ex- 
tremely obliged by the information you have been so good as to com- 
municate. 

It is considered, at least in the first instance, Georgia, North Caro- 
lina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and 
New York will vote for Mr. Jefferson. It is probable, that Maryland 
and Vermont will be divided. It is therefore counted, that upon the 
first ballot, it would be possible to give to Mr. Burr six votes. It is 
calculated, however, and strongly insisted by some gentlemen, that a 
persevering opposition to Mr. Jefferson would bring over New York, 
New Jersey and Maryland. What is the probability relative to New 
York, your means enable you to form the most correct opinion. As 
to New Jersey and Maryland, it would depend on Mr. Lynn of the 
former, and Mr. Dent of the latter state. 

I assure you, sir, there appears to be a strong inclination in a ma- 
jority of the federal party, to support Mr. Burr. The current has 
already acquired considerable force, and is manifestly increasing. The 
vote which the representation of a state enables me to give, would 
decide the question in favor of Mr. Jefferson. At present I am by no 
means decided as to the object of preference. If the federal party 
should take up Mr. Burr, I ought certainly to be impressed with the 
most undoubting conviction, before I separated myself from them. I 
cannot, however, deny, that there are strong considerations which 
give a preference to Mr. Jefferson. The subject admits of many and 
very doubtful views, and before I resolve on the part I shall take, I 
will await the approach of the crisis which may probably bring with 
it circumstances decisive of the event. 

The federal party meet on Friday for the purpose of forming a re- 
solution as to their line of conduct. I have not the least doubt of their 
agreeing to support Burr. 

Their determination will not bind me, for though it might cost me 
a painful struggle to disappoint the views and wishes of many gentle- 
men witli whom I have been accustomed to act, yet the magnitude of 
the subject forbids the sacrifice of a strong conviction. I cannot an- 



APPENDIX. 435 

swer for the coherence of my letter, as I have undertaken to write to 
you from the chamber of Representatives, with an attention divided 
by the debate which occupies the House. I have not considered my- 
self at liberty to show your letter to any one, though I think it would 
be serviceable, if you could trust my discretion in the communication 
of it. I am, with great consideration, 

Your very obedient servant, 

James A. Bayard. 
To Hon. Alexander Hamilton. 



{Letter from George Bacr.) 

Frederick, April 19, 1830. 
Richard H. Bayard, Esq.. 

Sir, — In compliance with your request, I now communicate to you 
my recollections of the events of the Presidential election by the 
House of Representatives in 1801. There has been no period of our 
political history more misunderstood, and more grossly misrepresent- 
ed. The course adopted by the federal party was one of principle, 
and not of faction, and I think the present a suitable occasion for ex- 
plaining the views and motives, at least of those gentlemen, who, 
having it in their power to decide the election at any moment, were 
induced to protract it for a time, but ultimately to withdraw their op- 
position to Mr. Jefferson. 

I have no hesitation in saying, that the facts stated in the deposi- 
tion of your father, the late James A. Bayard, so far as they came to 
my knowledge, are substantially correct ; and although nearly thirty 
years have elapsed since that eventful period, my recollection is vivid 
as to the principal circumstances, which, from the part I was called 
upon to act, were deeply graven on my memory. As soon as it was 
generally known that the two democratic candidates, Jefferson and 
Burr, had the highest and an equal number of votes, and that the 
election would consequently devolve on the House of Representatives, 
Mr. Dent, who had hitherto acted with the federal party, declared his 
intention to vote for Mr. Jefferson, in consequence of which deter- 
mination, the vote of Maryland was divided. 

It was soon ascertained that there were six individuals, the vote of 
any one of whom could, at any moment, decide tbe election. These 
were your father, the late James A. Bayard, who held the vote of the 
state of Delaware, General Morris of Vermont, who held the divided 
vote of that state, and Mr. Craik, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Dent and myself, 
who held the divided vote of Maryland. Much anxiety was shown 



436 APPENDIX. 

by the friends of Mr. Jefferson, and much ingenuity used to discover 
the line of conduct which would be pursued by them. Deeply im- 
pressed with the responsibility which attached to their peculiar situa- 
tion, and conscious that the American people looked to them for a 
President, they could not rashly determine, either to surrender their 
constitutional discretion, or to disappoint the expectations of their fel- 
low-citizens. 

Your father, Mr. Craik, and myself, having compared ideas upon 
the subject, and finding that we entertained the same views and opin- 
ions, resolved to act together, and accordingly entered into a solemn 
and mutual pledge, that we would, in the first instance, yield to the 
wishes of the great majority of the party with whom we acted, and 
vote for Mr. Burr; but that no consideration should induce us to pro- 
tract the contest beyond a reasonable period, for the purpose of ascer- 
taining whether he could be elected. We determined that a President 
should be chosen, but were willing thus far to defer to the opinions 
of our political friends, whose preference of Mr. Burr was founded 
upon a belief that he was less hostile to federal men and federal 
measures, than Mr. Jefferson. General Morris and Mr. Dent con- 
curred in this arrangement. 

The views by which the federal party were governed were these: 
They held that the constitution had vested in the House of Represent- 
atives a high discretion, in a case like the present, to be exercised for 
the benefit of the nation; and that in the execution of this delegated 
power, an honest and unbiased judgment was the measure of their 
responsibility. They were less certain of the hostility of Mr. Burr 
to federal policy, than of that of Mr. Jefferson, which was known 
and decided. Mr. Jefferson had identified himself with, and was at 
the head of that party in Congress, who had opposed every measure, 
deemed necessary by the federalists, for putting the country in a pos- 
ture of defence ; such as fortifying the l^arbors and seaports, establish- 
ing manufactories of arms; erecting arsenals, and filling them with 
arms and ammunition; erecting a navy for the defence of commerce, 
&c. His speculative opinions were known to be hostile to the inde- 
pendence of the judiciary, to the financial system of the country, and 
to internal improvements. 

All these matters the federalists believed to be intimately blended 
with the prosperity of the nation, and they deprecated, therefore, the 
elevation of a man to the head of the government, whose hostility to 
them was open and avowed. It was feared, too, from his prejudices 
against the party which supported them, that he would dismiss all 
public officers who differed with him in sentiment, without regard to 
their qualifications and honesty; but on the ground only, of political 



APPENDIX. 437 

character. The House of Representatives adopted certain resolutions 
for their government during the election, one of which was, that there 
should he no adjournment till it was decided. 

On the 11th of February, 1801, being the day appointed bylaw for 
counting the votes of the electoral colleges, the House of Represent- 
atives proceeded in a body to the Senate Chamber, where the Vice 
President, in view of both Houses of Congress, opened the certifi- 
cates of the electors of the different states, and as the votes were read, 
the tellers on the part of each house counted, and took lists of them, 
which being compared and delivered to him, he announced to both 
Houses the state of the votes ; which was for Thomas Jefferson 73 
votes, for Aaron Burr 73 votes, for John Adams 65 votes, for Charles 
C. Pinckney 64 votes, for John Jay one vote; and then declared that 
the greatest number, and majority of votes being equal, the choice 
had devolved on the House of Representatives. The members of 
the House then withdrew to their own chamber, and proceeded to 
ballot for a President. On the first ballot, it was found, that Thomas 
Jefferson had the votes of eight states, Aaron Burr of six states, 
and two were divided. As there were sixteen states, and a majority 
was necessary to determine the election, Mr. Jefferson wanted the 
vote of one state. Thus the result which had been anticipated was 
realized. 

The balloting continued throughout that day, and the following 
night, at short intervals, with the same result, the 26th ballot being 
taken at eight o'clock on the morning of the 12th of February. The 
balloting continued with the same result, from day to day, till the 17th 
of February, without any adjournment of the House. On the pre- 
vious day, (February 16th,) a consultation was held by the gentlemen 
I have mentioned, when, being satisfied that Mr. Burr could not be 
elected, as no change had taken place in his favor, and there was no 
evidence of any effort on the part of himself, or his personal friends, 
to procure his election, it was resolved to abandon the contest. This 
determination was made known to the federal members generally, and 
excited some discontent among the violent of the party, who thought 
it better to go without a President than to elect Mr. Jefferson. A 
general meeting, however, of the federal members was called, and the 
subject explained; when it was admitted that Mr. Burr could not be 
elected. A few individuals persisted in their resolution not to vote for 
Mr. Jefferson, but a great majority wished the election terminated, 
and a President chosen. Having also received assurances from a 
source on which we placed reliance, that our wishes with respect to 
certain points of federal policy in which we felt a deep interest, would 
be observed, in case Mr. Jefferson was elected, the opposition of Ver- 

37* 



438 APPENDIX. 

mont, Delaware, and Maryland was withdrawn ; and on the 36th bal- 
lot, your father, the late James A. Bayard, put in a blank ballot, myself 
and my colleagues did the same, and General Morris absented himself. 
The South Carolina federalists also put in blank ballots. Thus termi- 
nated that memorable contest. 

Previous to and pending the election, rumors were industriously 
circulated, and letters written to different parts of the country, charg- 
ing the federalists with a design to prevent the election of a President, 
and to usurp the government by an act of legislative power. Great 
anxiety and apprehensions were created in the minds of all, and of 
none more than the federalists generally, who were not apprised of 
the determination of those gentlemen who held the power, and were 
resolved to terminate the contest when the proper period arrived. 
But neither, these rumors, nor the excitement produced by them, nor 
the threats made by their opponents, to resist by force, such a mea- 
sure, had the least influence on the conduct of those gentlemen. 
They knew the power which they possessed, and were conscious of 
the uprightness of their views, and of the safety and constitutional 
character of the course they had adopted. I was privy to all the 
arrangements made, and attended all the meetings of the federal party 
when consulting on the course to be pursued in relation to the election ; 
and I pledge my most solemn asseveration, that no such measure 
was ever for a moment contemplated by that party ; that no such pro- 
position was ever made ; and that if it had been, it would not only 
have been discouraged, but instantly put down by those gentlemen who 
possessed the power and were pledged to each other to elect a Presi- 
dent before the close of the session. 

I am, respectfully, sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

George Baer. 

{Ldtcr from John Chno Thomas.') 

Leiperville, 4th of 5th month, 1830. 
Richard H. Bayard. 

Esteemed Friend, — I have carefully considered the contents of 
thy letter of the 16th ultimo, and can fully appreciate the object in 
view, which appears to be the vindication of the character of thy fa- 
ther, James A. Bayard, in consequence of certain " injurious imputa- 
tions" affecting it, contained in the writings of Jefferson, lately pub- 
lished, in reference to his conduct in the Presidential election of 1801. 
I must be excused from attempting anything like a circumstantial ac- 
count of the transactions of so remote a period. The depositions 



APPENDIX. 439 

shown mo by thee, which were made by thy father in 1805, and the 
statement recently drawn up by George Baer, (my colleague in Con- 
gress,) of the occurrences which then happened, I believe to be sub- 
stantially correct ; and I may add, that as a federal member of the 
House of Representatives, I attended the meetings of the federalists, 
held for consultation at that deeply interesting crisis ; and know of no 
cause to doubt the sincerity of the professed object of the party, 
which was to execute the important duty devolved upon them, by ex- 
ercising a constitutional discretion for the benefit of the nation, ac- 
cording to the dictates of their best judgment at the time. Of any 
project or determination, inconsistent with these views, I am utterly 
ignorant, as I am of any fact or circumstance which ought in the slight- 
est degree to lessen the high respect, which, in common with the 
American people, I have uniformly entertained for the integrity of thy 
father ; as well as for his pre-eminent talents, zealously devoted to the 
service of his country. 

Jno. Chew Thomas. 

{Affidavit of William Jarvis.) 

I, William Jarvis, of Weathersfield, in the county of Windsor, and 
state of Vermont, do testify and declare, that in the friendly intercourse 
which took place between the late Honorable Lewis R. Morris and 
myself, among various other topics, politics often became the subject 
of conversation. In one of those conversations, the contest which 
took place in the House of Representatives, in the year 1801, for the 
election of Mr. Jefferson in preference to Mr. Burr, naming the late 
Honorable James A. Bayard, of Delaware, as being one ; and stated 
that Mr. Bayard came to him, (General Morris,) and urged him to 
vote in favor of Mr. Jefferson, or to absent himself when the ballots 
of the state delegations were taken. Mr. Bayard remarking to him, 
that as he (Mr. Bayard) represented a federal state, he could not with 
propriety vote for Mr. Jefferson, but as the state of Vermont was 
friendly to the election of Mr. Jefferson, no objection of the kind 
precluded him (General Morris) from giving his vote to Mr. Jefferson, 
or from absenting himself from the poll. As the delegation of Ver- 
mont in Congress consisted of two members, one of whom had voted 
for Mr. Jefferson, and he (General Morris) had voted for Mr. Burr, 
the vote of the state had previously been lost, but upon the representa- 
tions of Mr. Bayard, with whom General Morris said he was on 
terms of the most friendly intimacy, and for whose talents he enter- 
tained the highest respect, and the most entire confidence in his honor 
and integrity, he was induced, prior to the last ballot, to absent him- 
self from the House, and the other member being in favor of Mr. Jef- 



440 APPENDIX. 

ferson, the vote of Vermont was accordingly given to him. After a 
lapse of ten or twelve years, I do not pretend to recollect the precise 
language of General Morris, but I am satisfied, that the preceding de- 
claration contains the true and faithful sense of his communication to 
me relative to that subject. 

Wm. Jarvis. 
Weathersfield, April 29, 1830. 

Political History. 
{Letter from Judge Paine, of Vermont, to the editor of iVi7cs' Register.) 

Williamstoivn, (Vt.) June 1, 1830. 

Dear Sir, — Noticing in the papers of the day, the memorandum 
made by the late President Jefferson, of the communication of Mr. 
Livingston of Louisiana, in relation to a conversation said to be held 
by the late Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, with General Smith of Maryland, 
pending the Presidential election in the House of Representatives in 
1801, I determined immediately to communicate to you my know- 
ledge of the views and sentiments of Mr. Bayard in relation to that 
election. But, from a reluctance to appear in the public prints at my 
time of life, I changed my determination. However, by the advice of 
friends on whose judgment I rely, I now concisely communicate to 
you my knowledge on that subject. 

And, first, permit me to say, that probably I possess more know- 
ledge on the subject, as it relates to Mr. Bayard, than any person now 
living. Mr. Bayard, as is well known, was at the time the sole repre- 
sentative from Delaware, and could cast the vote of the state as he 
thought proper. The late General Morris and Matthew Lyon were 
the representatives of the state of Vermont; for at that time Vermont 
had but two representatives. General Morris voted for Mr. Burr and 
Mr. Lyon for Mr. Jefferson. In consequence, the vote of Vermont 
was lost. At the same time, I was in the Senate, and was on intimate 
and confidential terms with General Morris, and had been so for 
many years. He held conversations with me every day during the 
balloting in the House of Representatives, in relation to the business 
before them. 

General Morris was very intimate with Mr. Bayard, and in conse- 
quence of this intimacy, I became very well acquainted with the lat- 
ter gentleman. And I do know that Mr. Bayard was much dissatis- 
fied that the balloting should have been so long protracted, and that 
the day before the last ballot, he declared amongst his political friends, 
it should be brought to a close the next day. He thought that the 
delay would cause a dangerous excitement in the country. 



APPENDIX. 441 

The evening before the last ballot was taken, General Morris in- 
formed me, that he should not be in the House the next day, and in 
consequence, Mr. Jefferson would be elected. He said, he was in- 
duced to secede by the representation, and at the request of Mr. Bay- 
ard; who thought that he, General Morris, could secede with greater 
propriety than a person who was the only representative of a federal 
state, and Vermont at that time was nearly equally divided on the 
subject. So that I always considered Mr. Bayard as the means of 
Mr. Jefferson's election, and I believe he was so considered by many 
others. 

That Mr. Bayard might have sportively said to General Smith 
what is attributed to him, is possible. And if so, General Smith 
would not, probably, remember it. But if such conversation was 
held, with corrupt views, for the purpose of influencing him, it is im- 
possible he should have forgotten it. I have no belief that Mr. Bay- 
ard would seriously have made what amounts to a proposition to cor- 
rupt another. I am, with great regard, 

Your obedient servant, 

Elijah Paine. 

It appears, then, from the proceedings, that the first charge retailed 
in the Memoirs of Mr. Jefferson, is negatived by the testimony of 
those on whose authority it professes to be founded. It further ap- 
pears from the deposition of Mr. Bayard, in the case of Mr. Burr and 
Cheetham, that he had not even a personal acquaintance with Mr. 
Burr, previously to the 4th of March, 1801. And from that of Gene- 
ral Smith, in the case of Gillespie and Smith, that he, on the con- 
trary, was on terms of intimacy with Colonel Burr, in correspond- 
ence with him from the beginning of the session until the termination 
of the election, and had been constituted by him his proxy to decline 
any contest with Mr. Jefferson. The letter addressed to him by 
Colonel Burr for this purpose, was dated the 16th of December, 
1800, and was published in Relf's Philadelphia Gazette of the 30th 
of December; it was, therefore, a matter of notoriety. The calumny, 
therefore, involves the absurdity of an entire stranger to Colonel 
Burr, making an authorized proposition on his behalf, to one of his 
confidential friends, who had been selected for the very purpose 
of defeating the object alleged to be in view. It is also evident 
from the whole course of Mr. Bayard in reference to the election, 
established by his own deposition, his letter to General Hamilton, 
the statements of Messrs. Baer and Thomas, and the declarations of 
General Morris, that he had no communication whatever with Mr. 
Burr, and that the charge is an idle slander, which Mr. Jefferson 



442 APPENDIX. 

should have been too wise to have committed to paper, and possessed 
of too much propriety of feeling, to have left for posthumous publi- 
cation. 

The second charge, at page 521 of the fourth volume of the " Me- 
moirs," is as follows, under date of April 15, 1806. 

" I did not commit these things to writing at the time, but I do it 
now, because in a suit between him (Colonel Burr) and Cheetham, 
he has had a deposition of Mr. Bayard taken, which seems to have 
no relation to the suit, nor to any other object than to calumniate me. 
Bayard pretends to have addressed to me, during the pending of the 
Presidential election in February, 1801, through General Smith, cer- 
tain conditions on which my election might be obtained, and that 
General Smith, after conversing with me, gave answers for me. This 
is absolutely false. No proposition of any kind was ever made to me 
on that occasion by General Smith, nor any answer authorized by 
me; and this fact General Smith affirms at this moment." 

The reply we give to this memorandum of Mr. Jefferson is, the 
publication of the depositions of Mr. Bayard and General Smith, in 
the case of Gillespie and Smith. The documents in this case were 
obtained from the Hon. Stephen R. Bradley, of Vermont, one of the 
commissioners to take the depositions of witnesses in the cause, and 
at the time a Senator in Congress from the state of Vermont. 

It will be perceived that Mr. Jefferson, in his anxiety to arraign the 
statement of Mr. Bayard, has assumed the fact, that his deposition was 
made in the case of Mr. Burr and Cheetham, and from this groundless 
assumption, drawn a conclusion, that the deposition had no relation to 
the suit, and no other object than to calumniate him. 

The unfairness and falsity of this conclusion are manifest, from the 
interrogatories in the case in which the deposition was made, which 
in truth was that of Gillespie and Smith. 

The deposition of General Smith, in the same case, sworn to on 
the very day on which Mr. Jefferson's memorandum is dated, also 
shows how unwarranted is his assertion, that his denial of the facts 
stated in the deposition of Mr. Bayard is affirmed by that gentleman. 
It will be seen, on the contrary, that the deposition of Mr. Bayard is 
substantially and fully confirmed by that of General Smith. 

The charge of calumny may, therefore, be retorted upon Mr. Jef- 
ferson. The deposition of Mr. Bayard was made during the lifetime 
of all the parties connected with the matters detailed in it, and before 
commissioners opposed to him in political principles, and members of 
the same party with Mr. Jefferson. The memorandum of Mr. Jef- 
ferson was secluded among his private papers till long after the death 
of Mr. Bayard, and left for posthumous publication, to tarnish his re- 



APPENDIX. 443 

putation, when the means of refuting it might have been lost. Those 
means, however, have been preserved, and the object of the memo- 
randum, as far as relates to Mr. Bayard, is, Ave believe, entirely de- 
feated ; with what benefit to the reputation of Mr. Jefferson, is left to 
others to determine. 

Deposition of the Hon. James A. Bayard. 

{James Gillespie, plaintiff-, and Abraham Smith, defendant.) 

I was personally acquainted with Thomas Jefferson before he be- 
came President of the United States ; the precise length of time I do 
not recollect. The acquaintance did not extend beyond the common 
salutation upon meeting, and accidental conversation upon such meet- 
ings. 

The electoral votes for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, for Pre- 
sident of the United States, were equal, so that the choice of one of 
them, as President, devolved on the House of Representatives. 

Messrs. Baer and Craig, members of the House of Representa- 
tives from Maryland, and General Morris, a member of the House 
from Vermont, and myself, having the power to determine the votes 
of states, from similarity of views and opinions during the pendency 
of the election, made an agreement to vote together. We foresaw that 
a crisis was approaching, which might probably force us to separate 
in our votes from the party with whom we usually acted. We were 
determined to make a President, and the period of Mr. Adams' ad- 
ministration was rapidly approaching. 

In determining to recede from the opposition to Mr. Jefferson, it 
occurred to us, that probably, instead of being obliged to surrender at 
discretion, we might obtain terms of capitulation. The gentlemen, 
whose names I have mentioned, authorized me to declare their con- 
currence with me upon the best terms that could be procured. The 
vote of either of us was sufficient to decide the choice. With a view 
to the end mentioned, I applied to Mr. John Nicholas, a member of 
the House from Virginia, who was a particular friend of Mr. Jeffer- 
son. I stated to Mr. Nicholas, that if certain points of the future ad- 
ministration could be understood and arranged with Mr. Jefferson, I 
was to say that three states would withdraw from an opposition to 
his election. He asked me what those points were. I answered, 
first, sir, the support of public credit; secondly, the maintenance of 
the naval system; and lastly, that subordinate public officers, em. 
ployed only in the execution of details, established by law, shall not 
be removed from office on the ground of their political character; nor 



444 APPENDIX. 

without complaint against their conduct. I explained myself, that I 
considered it not only reasonable, but necessary, that offices of high 
discretion and confidence, should be filled by men of Mr. Jefferson's 
choice. I exemplified by mentioning, on the one hand, the offices of 
the secretaries of state, treasury, foreign ministers, &c. ; and on the 
other, the collectors of ports, &c. Mr. Nicholas answered me, that 
he considered the points as very reasonable ; that he was satisfied that 
they corresponded with the views and intentions of Mr. Jefferson, and 
knew him well. That he was acquainted with most of the gentlemen 
who would probably be about him and enjoying his confidence, in 
case he became President, and that if I would be satisfied with his 
assurance, he could solemnly declare it as his opinion, that Mr. Jef- 
ferson in his administration would not depart from the points I had 
proposed. I replied to Mr. Nicholas, that I had not the least doubt 
of the sincerity of his declaration, and that his opinion was perfectly 
correct, but that I wanted an engagement, and that if the points could, 
in any form, be understood as conceded by Mr. Jefferson, the election 
should be ended, and proposed to him to consult Mr. Jefferson. This 
he declined, and said he could do no more than give me the assurance 
of his own opinion as to the sentiments and designs of Mr. Jefferson 
and his friends. I told him that was not sufficient ; that we should 
not surrender without better terms. Upon this, we separated, and I 
shortly after met with General Smith, to whom I unfolded myself in 
the same manner that I had done to Mr. Nicholas. In explaining 
myself to him in relation to the nature of the offices alluded to, I men- 
tioned the offices of George Latimer, collector of the port of Philadel- 
phia, and Allen McLane, collector of Wilmington. General Smith 
gave me the same assurances as to the observance by Mr. Jefferson of 
the points which I had stated, which Mr. Nicholas had done. I told 
him, I should not be satisfied, nor agree to yield, till I had the as- 
surance from Mr. Jefferson himself; but that if he would consult Mr. 
Jefferson, and bring the assurance from him, the election should be 
ended. The General made no difficulty in consulting Mr. Jtefierson, 
and proposed giving me his answer the, next morning. The next day, 
upon our meeting, General Smith informed me, he had seen Mr. Jeffer- 
son and stated to him the points mentioned, and was authorized by 
him to say, that they corresponded with his views and intentions, and 
that Ave might confide in him accordingly. The opposition of Ver- 
mont, Maryland, and Delaware was immediately withdrawn, and Mr. 
Jefferson was made President by the votes of ten states. 

I was introduced to Mr. Purr, the day of Mr. Jefferson's inaugura- 
tion as President. I had no acquaintance with him before, and very 



APPENDIX. 445 

little afterwards, till the last winter of his Vice Presidency, when I 
became a member of the Senate of the United States. 

I do not know, nor did I ever believe, from any information I re- 
ceived, that Mr. Burr entered into any negotiation or agreement with 
any member of either party, in relation to the Presidential election, 
which depended before the House of Representatives. 

Upon the subject of this interrogatory, I can express only a loose 
opinion, founded upon the conjectures of the time, of what could be 
effected by Mr. Burr by mortgaging the patronage of the executive. 
I can only say, generally, that I did believe at the time, that he had 
the means of making himself President. But this opinion has no 
other ground than conjecture, derived from a knowledge of means 
which existed ; and, if applied, their probable operation on individual 
characters. In answer to the last part of the interrogatory, deponent 
says, I know of nothing of which Mr. Burr was apprized, which re- 
lated to the election. 

(Signed) J. A. Bayard, Washington. 

Deposition of the Hon. Samuel Smith, 

{Senator of the United States, in a cause pending in the Supreme Court of the state of 
New York, between Gillespie and Smith.) 

I knew Thomas Jefferson some years previous to 1800; the precise 
time when acquaintance commenced, I do not recollect. 

I was a member of the House of Representatives of the United 
States, in 1800 and 1801, and knew that Thomas Jefferson and Aaron 
Burr had an equal number of the votes given by the electors of Presi 
dent and Vice President of the United States. 

Presuming that this question may have reference to conversations, 
(for I know of no bargains or agreements,) which took place at the 
time of the balloting, I will relate those which I well recollect to have 
had with three gentlemen, separately, of the federal party. On the 
Wednesday preceding the termination of the election, Colonel Josiah 
Parker asked a conversation with me, in private. He said, that many 
gentlemen were desirous of putting an end to the election ; that they 
only wanted to know what would be the conduct of Mr. Jefferson in 
case he should be elected President, particularly as it related to the 
public debt, to commerce and the navy. I had heard Mr. Jefferson 
converse on all those subjects lately, and informed him what I under- 
stood were the opinions of that gentleman. I lived in the house with 
Mr. Jefferson, and that I might be certain that what I had said was 
correct, I sought, and had a conversation that evening on those points ; 
38 



446 APPENDIX. 

and I presume, though I do not exactly recollect, that I communicated 
to him the conversation which I had had with Colonel Parker. 

The next day, General Dayton, (a Senator,) after some jesting con- 
versation, asked me to converse with him in private. We retired; 
he said that he, with some other gentlemen, wished to have a termina- 
tion put to the pending election, but he wished to know, what were 
the opinions or conversations of Mr. Jefferson respecting the navy, 
commerce, and the public debt. In answer, I said, that I had last 
night had conversation with Mr. Jefferson on all those subjects. That 
he had told me, that any opinion he should give at this time, might be 
attributed to improper motives. That to me he had no hesitation in 
saying, that as to the public debt, he had been averse to the manner of 
funding it, but that he did not believe there was any man who respected 
his character, who would, or could think, of injuring its credit at this 
time. That, on commerce, he thought that a correct idea of his opin- 
ions on that subject, might be derived from his writings ; and particu- 
larly, from his conduct while he was minister at Paris, when he 
thought he had evinced his attention -to the commercial interest of his 
country. That he had not changed opinion, and still did consider the 
prosperity of our commerce as essential to the true interest of the 
nation. That, on the navy, he had fully expressed his opinion in his 
Notes on Virginia ; that he adhered still to his ideas then given. 
That he believed our growing commerce would call for protection ; 
that he had been averse to a too rapid increase of our navy ; that he 
believed that a navy must naturally grow out of our commerce, but 
thought prudence would advise its increase to progress with the in- 
crease of the nation, and that in this way he was friendly to the es- 
tablishment. General Dayton appeared pleased with the conversation, 
and (I think) said, that if this conversation had taken place earlier, 
much trouble might have been saved, or words to that effect. 

At the funeral of Mr. Jones, of Georgia, I walked with Mr. Bay- 
ard, of Delaware. The approaching election became the subject of 
conversation. I recollect no part of that conversation, except his say- 
ing, that he thought that half an hour's conversation between us might 
settle the business. That idea was not again repeated. On the day 
after I had held the conversation with General Dayton, I was asked 
by Mr. Bayard to go into the committee room. He then stated, that 
he had it in his power, (and was so disposed,) to terminate the election, 
but he wished information as to Mr. Jefferson's opinions on certain 
subjects, and mentioned, (I think,) the same three points already al- 
luded to, as asked by Colonel Parker and General Dayton, and re- 
ceived from me the same answer in substance, (if not in words,) that 
I had given to General Dayton. He added a fourth, to wit ; what 



APPENDIX. 447 

would be Mr. Jefferson's conduct as to the public officers ? He said, 
he did not mean confidential officers, but, by way of elucidating his 
question, he added, such as Mr. Latimer of Philadelphia, and Mr. 
McLane of Delaware. I answered, that I never had heard Mr. Jef- 
ferson say anything on that subject. He requested that I would in- 
quire, and inform him the next day. I did so. And the next day 
(Saturday) told him, that Mr. Jefferson had said, that he did not think 
that such officers ought to be dismissed on political grounds only, ex- 
cept in cases where they had made improper use of their offices, to 
force the officers under them to vote contrary to their judgment. 
That, as to Mr. McLane, he had already been spoken to in his behalf 
by Major Eccleston, and from the character given by that gentleman, 
he considered him a meritorious officer, of course, that he would not be 
displaced, or ought not to be displaced. I further added, that Mr. 
Bayard might rest assured, (or words to that effect,) that Mr. Jefferson 
would conduct, as to those points, agreeably to the opinions I had 
stated as his. Mr. Bayard then said, we will give the vote on Mon- 
day, and we separated. Early in the election, my colleague, Mr. 
Baer, told me that we should have a President ; that they would not 
get up without electing one or the other gentleman. Mr. Baer had 
voted against Mr. Jefferson until the final vote, when, I believe, he 
withdrew, or voted blank, but do not perfectly recollect. 

I became acquainted with Colonel Burr some time in the revolution- 
ary war. 

I know of no agreement or bargain, in the years 1800 or 1801, with 
any person or persons whatsoever, respecting the office of President, 
in behalf of Aaron Burr, nor have I any reason to believe that any 
such existed. 

I received a letter from Colonel Burr, dated, I believe, 16th Decem- 
ber, 1800, in reply to one which I had just before written him. The 
letter of Colonel Burr is as follows : 

" It is highly improbable that I shall have an equal number of votes 
with Mr. Jefferson ; but if such should be the result, every man who 
knows me, ought to know that I would utterly disclaim all competi- 
tion. Be assured, that the federal party can entertain no wish for 
such an exchange. As to my friends, they would dishonor my views, 
and insult my feelings, by a suspicion that I would submit to be in- 
strumental in counteracting the wishes and the expectations of the 
people of the United States. And I now constitute you my proxy, to 
declare these sentiments if the occasion shall require." 

I have not now that letter by me, nor any other letter from him to 
refer to ; the preceding is taken from a printed copy which corre- 
sponds with my recollection, and which I believe to be correct. My 



448 APPENDIX. 

correspondence with him continued to the close of the election. In 
none of his letters to me, or to any other person, that I saw, was 
there anything that contradicted the sentiments contained in that letter. 

(Signed) S. Smith. 

Mr. Adams having appointed Mr. Bayard minister to France, Mr. 
Bayard declined the appointment by the following letter. 

Washington, February 19, 1801. 

Sir, — I beg you to accept my thanks for the honor conferred on 
me, by the nomination as minister to the French Republic. Under 
most circumstances, I should have been extremely gratified with such 
an opportunity of rendering myself serviceable to the country. But 
the delicate situation in which the late Presidential election has placed 
me, forbids my exposing myself to the suspicion of having adopted, 
from impure motives, the line of conduct which I pursued. Repre- 
senting the smallest state in the Union, without resources which could 
furnish the means of self-protection, I was compelled by the obligation 
of a sacred duty, so to act, as not to hazard the constitution upon 
which the political existence of the state depends. 

The service which I should have to render, by accepting the appoint- 
ment, would be under the administration of Mr. Jefferson, and having 
been in the number of those who withdrew themselves from the op- 
position to his election, it is impossible for me to take an office, the 
tenure of which would be at his pleasure. 

You will, therefore, pardon me, sir, for begging you to accept my 
resignation of the appointment. 

I have the honor to be, with perfect consideration, 
Your very obedient servant, 
James A. Bayard. 

The President of the United States. 

The following " extract" is from a letter written three days after- 
wards, to a near relation, one of the earliest and most intimate friends 
of Mr. Bayard. Those who knew him personally, will recognize his 
character in its sentiments. It contains the principles which govern- 
ed his political course and ambition then, and through the rest of his 
life. The same which induced him to accept the mission to Ghent, 
and when peace was concluded, to refuse that to St. Petersburg!!. 



APPENDIX. 449 

{Extract.) 

Washington, February 22, 1801. 

You are right in your conjecture as to the office offered me. I 
have since been nominated minister to France ; concurred in, ncm. 
con. ; commissioned and resigned. Under proper circumstances, the 
acceptance would have been complete gratification; but under the 
existing circumstances, I thought the resignation most honorable. 
To have taken eighteen thousand dollars out of the public treasury, 
with a knowledge that no service could be rendered by me, as the 
French government would have waited for a man who represented 
the existing feelings and views of this government, would have been 
disgraceful. 

Another consideration of great weight, arose from the part I took 
in the Presidential election. As I had given the turn to the election, 
it was impossible for me to accept an office, which would be held on 
the tenure of Mr. Jefferson's pleasure. My ambition shall never be 
gratified at the expense of a suspicion. 

I shall never lose sight of the motto of the great original of our 
name. (Signed) J. A. B. 

In conclusion we have only further to remark, that our publication 
has been one of defence ; nor have we wandered from the charges 
relating to the character of our father, for the purpose of commenting 
upon the opinions of Mr. Jefferson, or investigating the numerous 
charges contained in his "Memoirs" against the federal party, or the 
individuals who acted among its leading members, or the states in 
which it maintained a majority during his administration. These, 
together with the general views of Mr. Jefferson on religion and 
government, and his character as a philosopher, statesman, or man, 
will be more impartially considered at a later day; more fairly 
weighed, and truly estimated, when those whose feelings are in any 
way connected with the contest, in which he was so prominent, are 
not to be the arbiters. 

His most devoted friends cannot but regret, that the enlightened 
judgment and benevolent feelings, which, in his letter to Mr. Adams 
of June 23, 1813, dictated the sentiment that he should "see with 
reluctance the passions of that day rekindled in this, while so many of 
the actors arc living, and all are too near the scene, not to participate 
in sympathies with them," did not look beyond the duration of his 
own life, and restrain the publication of much that is contained in 
the " Memoirs" which, whether with reference to his own fame, or 

38* 



450 APPENDIX. 

with a proper regard for the opinions, sentiments, and characters of 
others, sound discretion alone would certainly have prevented. 

(Signed) Richard H. Bayard, 

James A. Bayard. 

(Remarks of the author on the aforegoing evidence.) 

[Is one to suppose that Mr. Jefferson was so truly mean, as to have 
intentionally misrepresented the facts, to uphold his own reputation, 
and to dishonor the fame of Mr. Bayard? Was it, also, his intention, 
that the wrong done by him, should come forth, when the refutation 
should have gone with the memories, whence only it could come ? 
Did he mean, too, that his certificate of truth, and the certainty of the 
press, should furnish materials for history, knowing that they were 
false ? Little as the sifting of Mr. Jefferson's worth inspires respect, 
one is not inclined to charge him with such base criminality. It is 
more probable, (as there has been occasion before to remark,) that Mr. 
Jefferson was one of those unfortunate men who had no perception of 
moral propriety; nor any sense of the high and honorable motives 
which govern gentlemen. There may be some allowance, too, for 
one who, through all his manhood, was enveloped in party mysteries, 
and who seems to have considered any act right, which would ac- 
complish his purpose. It may well be doubted whether Mr. Jeffer- 
son could, if he would, distinguish between right and wrong in ethical 
philosophy, where his own interest, or that of his party, was in- 
volved. He seems to have chosen for himself the uneasy embarrass- 
ment of being always en masque, than which nothing can be more 
irksome, at any time, to an ingenuous mind. 

The facts stated by Mr. Bayard and Gen. Smith, (the latter Mr. 
Jefferson's personal and political friend,) in flat contradiction to his own 
deliberate and repeated declarations, have an important bearing in 
another respect. Here is a case in which Mr. Jefferson's veracity is 
tested. Tben suppose that the like test could be applied to all the 
statements of tales borne to him by Beckley and others, and even to 
his own declarations of the words imputed to Hamilton, Adams, 
Cabot, Dexter, William Smith, Harper, and many others, is it most 
probable that they would have been found to have uttered such words, 
or that Mr. Jefferson believed they did? What is the sentiment 
which fills one's mind in thus examining the worth of the illustrious 
Thomas Jefferson? Is it one of mingled contempt and indignation, 
or of sorrow and compassion ? 

The men whom Jefferson desired to make odious, will live in the 
respect and gratitude of his countrymen, when he, if remembered at 



APPENDIX. 451 

all, will be so only in contrast with them ; and because his life was 
devoted to pull down and destroy the monuments of virtue and wisdom, 
which they gave their lives to build and preserve.] 



EXTRACT FROM MR. WALSH S LETTER ON FRENCH POWER. 

Page 12. Whoever attends to the progress of French power, must 
be satisfied that it is not the work of chance ; but, in a great degree, 
the result of a deliberate project for the subjugation of Europe, framed 
and acted upon, even before the reign of the Directory. The conclu- 
sions which an attentive consideration of this subject had led me to 
adopt, were sanctioned by the acknowledgment of all the actors in 
the scene of the revolution with whom I had occasion to converse in 
Paris. They drew from the history of the commonwealths of an- 
tiquity, those arts of fraud and menace, of violence and seduction, by 
which the latter were enabled to beguile the weakness, to ensnare the 
cupidity, to confound the judgment, and to overpower the fortitude of 
mankind. The archives of the Assyrian and Macedonian, of the 
Greek and Roman conquests, were, and still are, diligently searched 
for precedents in the art of combining cunning with force. The in- 
veterate habits of intrigue, the vanity and ductility which have always 
marked the national character, are all confederated for one grand and 
successful experiment ; that of trying whether the master-springs of 
human conduct are not at all times the same; whether, with a deep 
knowledge of the temper of the age, with a congenial spirit and aug- 
mented means, the same principles and measures, skilfully adapted to 
circumstances, will not give the same results. 

The world has seen with how strong and steady an impetus they 
have urged the accomplishment of their views ; and with what over- 
whelming rapidity of execution they have demolished the public law 
and the liberties of Europe. In the boldness with which they con- 
ceived, in the vigor with which they have perpetrated their criminal 
enterprises, in the splendor and variety of their military achievements, 
in the evils which they have inflicted upon the miserable victims of 
their power, they have far exceeded all the examples furnished by the 
records of antiquity. Combining the subtlety of the Roman senate 
and the ferocity of the Goth, — the wildest passions with the most de- 
liberate perfidy, — discarding, both in their domestic administration and 
in their foreign policy, the feelings of nature, the obligations of con- 



452 APPENDIX. 

science, the ties of friendship, the sense of honor; they drenched 
France as well as the rest of the continent in tears and blood, and 
have not left even the consolation of hope, to those who examine at- 
tentively the present condition of Europe. The works of Livy and 
Sallust, and the commentaries of Machiavel and Montesquieu, discover 
the closest parallel between the French and Roman conquerors, in the 
structure of their military system, in the progress of their arms, and in 
the tenor of their deportment towards allies and enemies. I have been 
powerfully struck with this similitude, but I should do injustice to the 
memory of the Roman republic, if I instituted a comparison as to the 
character of the instruments by whom their conquests were achieved. 
The ruffian horde now preying on the carcass of Europe, bears no 
more analogy to " the solemn and sacred militia" of the Romans, 
than the convention bore to that body which Cicero has ventured to 
denominate, " the temple of sanctity, and the refuge of all nations." 

The inferences which I drew from the above general considerations, 
were early confirmed in my mind, during my residence in Paris, by 
the most positive testimony. I heard from every man, both in and 
out of office, who had any intimate connection with the government, 
the same language of contempt and menace of the subject of the 
United States. The peculiar phraseology was, — " that we were a na- 
tion of fraudulent shopkeepers; British in prejudices and predilections, 
and equally objects of aversion to the Emperor, who had taken a 
fixed determination to bring us to reason in due time." It was uni- 
versally understood, that our sluggishness in acceding to all his wishes ; 
the bold strictures in which we sometimes indulge concerning his 
character and conduct; and the nature of our institutions ; were inex- 
piable offences, and to be finally retributed by the full weight of his 
resentment. The British he hates, and dreads and respects. The 
people of this country he detests and despises. He detests us as the 
progeny of the British, and as the citizens of a free government. He 
despises us as a body of traders, — according to his view, — without 
national fame or national character ; without military strength or mili- 
tary virtues. 

If we had thrown ourselves into his arms, he might have respected 
us more for some decision of character; but he would not have hated 
us less. Our labors to steer a middle course, to moderate his violence 
by humble remonstrances and benevolent professions, to entice from 
him the alms of an oppressed and precarious refuse of trade, have 
only conduced to heighten his disdain and to embolden his insolence. 
We have squandered, — and do squander, unavailingly, — our fund of 
submission. Every act of humiliation is not merely superfluous, but 
absolutely prejudicial. There is no extravagance of disgrace which 



APPENDIX. 453 

could render him placable. A war with England might soften his 
tone for some time, but, as we have seen exemplified in the case of 
Austria and Prussia, — and shall soon see proved in that of Russia, — 
it would not produce an oblivion of past disgusts, — nor contract his 
immeasurable ambition, — nor extirpate his deeply-rooted hostility to 
trade and to popular institutions. When an attempt was to be made 
to plunge us in the same abyss of ruin which we had been assisting 
him to prepare for others, we should, as in the instance of Prussia, 
be scornfully reproached and relentlessly punished for our original 
neutrality, — for the symptoms of discontent or indignation which wc 
might have shown under the yoke of his own galling amity, — for 
our very treachery to the cause we had abandoned in his favor, and 
which, as we should be told, our base fears alone prompted us to be- 
tray. 

A union with France, if not even ruinous in its immediate conse- 
quences, would be an indelible stain on our annals. Our descendants 
would turn with disgust from the page which might record so mon- 
strous and unnatural an alliance. I know not, indeed, how an Ameri- 
can will feel one century hence, when, in investigating the history of 
the late invasion of Spain, he shall inquire what, on that occasion, 
was the conduct of his ancestors, the only republican people then on 
earth, and who claim almost an exclusive privilege to hate and to de- 
nounce every act of ruffian violence, and every form of arbitrary 
power. It certainly will not kindle a glow of emulation in his mind, 
when he shall be told, that of this unparalleled crime, an oblique no- 
tice was once taken by our administration ; that the people of this 
country seemed to rejoice at the triumph of the invader, and frowned 
on the efforts of his victims. 

Mr. Jefferson had it in his power, when all the horrors of this usurp- 
ation were first unfolded, to consolidate the public virtue, and, per- 
haps, to fix forever the destinies of this country. He could, indeed, 
have found justifiable causes of war, in the insults and injuries which 
we, ourselves, had received from France, but he should have availed 
himself of this event to hallow the contest in which, sooner or later, 
we must be engaged, and to call up a force of generous resolution, 
which, while it armed us with power, would have purified and invigo- 
rated our attachment to republican institutions. By entering, in the 
name of a free people, his solemn and indignant protest against this 
fatal precedent of outrage, he would at once have buoyed up the peo- 
ple here to a similar elevation of sentiment, and by throwing himself 
entirely on their magnanimity, could have wanted no better tenure for 
his place. Our present rulers, if they act upon a large and prospect- 
ive view of our true interests, may retrieve the character of this coun- 



454 APPENDIX. 

try. They will, I am quite sure, be seconded by an entire corre- 
spondence of feeling, not only on our part, but in the people of 
England, whatever may be the narrow policy or the illiberal preju- 
dices of the British ministry. It is from our rulers, however, that we 
expect, and, perhaps, only from them that we can receive the proper 
impulse. " Whenever," says Geutz, " a real interest commands, 
every national antipathy, though existing from the earliest times, if it 
only rests upon prejudice, must yield to more urgent motives ; and so 
it doubtless will, when the guidance of nations is intrusted to the wise 
and great ; to men who are above all narrow views, and superior to 
all little passions. The deliberate and decided measures of a truly 
enlightened government, intent upon important objects, break through 
the fetters of popular opinion, are supported by the wise, and carry 
the weak irresistibly along." 

This note on the conscription laws of France, and on the operation 
of these laws, is made up from authentic sources, especially from 
Mr. Walsh's writings ; and a pamphlet entitled " A Sketch of the 
Military System of France."* 

The French Revolution placed the whole people of France under 
the dominion of a few terrible tyrants, who carried on their work of 
destruction with such atrocity, as to require new terms in their lan- 
guage to describe their crimes. But all their acts of confiscation and 
murder, were done in the name of liberty and the rights of man. 
These tyrants, terrified themselves at the physical power which they 
had raised up, and with it the thirst for action, directed attention to 
the liberation of other nations from the tyranny of their own govern- 
ments. In other words, the French Republic went forth " to plant 
the tree of liberty," wherever they could conquer and establish their 
own dominion. 

The whole of the male population from the age of 20 to 45, was 
divided into classes, and subjected to the conscription law. When the 
armies were to be recruited or increased, the inhabitants liable to 
serve were assembled ; their names were deposited in an urn, and the 
number wanted for the occasion were drawn out. Those to whom 
the lot fell, were gathered into bodies of one hundred, and marched 
to whatsoever region they were wanted in, and there distributed one 
by one, so that none who came from the same canton or village, could 
have any communion with each other. 

From this liability to serve there was no exemption ; husbands, 
only sons, individuals whose presence was indispensable to the daily 
subsistence of a whole family, were equally liable. If a substitute 

* By Mr. John Howard. 



APPENDIX. 455 

was sometimes permitted, he who furnished the substitute was answer- 
able for his desertion and crimes ; and might be liable to go himself 
at the next call. 

Comparisons have been instituted between the military conscription 
of Rome and that of France. The Romans and the French had the 
same object, universal conquest; but the Roman militia, and the 
French conscription, were very different in many respects, much to 
the disadvantage of the Frenchman. 

The Roman term of service' was limited, that of the French unlimit- 
ed; the moment the name was drawn from the urn, slavery for life, 
of the most detestable character, began. The Romans punished de- 
sertion in the person of the deserter ; the French punished the deserter 
cruelly, if caught ; if not, they held the parents answerable and pun- 
ished them. The Romans exempted for personal disability to serve ; 
the French could not make soldiers of those who were physically 
unable, but made them pay enough to hire another, because they were 
incapable themselves. The punishments of the French were most 
inhuman for all military delinquencies ; and family connections were 
involved to make the miserable conscript endure his sufferings. The 
disconsolate wife, innocent offspring, aged and helpless parents, all 
their means of subsistence in the dreadful absence of their natural 
protector, were the sureties for his submission to the will of an un- 
pitying despot. For him the heart-broken soldier was to engage in 
scenes of slaughter; and to fix him on a throne cemented with the 
blood of his countrymen, while every exertion of his own body and 
mind, served only to make himself more certainly a hopeless slave. 
(<S"ee Sketch of the Military System of France.) 

Now, it was to such a people and government as the French have 
been described to be, that the three Presidents who succeeded the 
Federal administration, desired to bind our free republic. Nor only 
so ; for be it forever remembered, that James Madison and James 
Monroe concurred in recommending to Congress, a still more odious 
conscription of the free citizens of the United States, than that which 
humbled and distressed Frenchmen, accustomed as they were from 
their cradles, to the natural action of despotism. Mr. Madison, and 
Mr. Monroe, proposed a virtual annihilation of the state and national 
constitutions ! For, while these were respected, their propositions 
were as hostile to the rights of the citizens, as would have been the 
will of Napoleon himself. 

And for what was this terrible aggression on the rights of free citi- 
zens ? To conquer Canada ! which we could not hold, if conquered ; 
and the conquest of which would have required such a force as to 



456 APPENDIX. 

have made our whole sea-coast the territory of a vindictive, exaspe- 
rated and unpitying foe ! — Such is the tyranny of parly, of which 
Jefferson was at the same time the founder and the patron ! — And 
young republican Americans are called on to regard the memory and 
the deeds of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, as the objects of their 
patriotic eulogy ; and Washington, Adams, Jay, Hamilton, King, Ca- 
bot and ximes, and others, as monarchists and traitors ! 



INDEX. 



Ames, Frsher, speech on election 57 

sent to Congress under new con- 
stitution 57 
speech on public dangers 58 
speech on Jay's treaty 58 
his writings 58 
his appearance 59 
" no Revolutionist" 63 
in congress 1793 S8 
votes for carrying treaties into 

effect 106 

eulogy on Washington 169 

Adams, Samuel, Gov. of Mass. in 

1789 142 

his appearance 143 

Adams, John, Vice President in 1789 65 

President 1797 146 

personal description of 146 

war with France 151 

sends envoys to France 152 

peace with France 153 

first speech to congress 1797 158 

pardons John Fries 165 

administration of 165 

Adams, John Quincy, at Ghent 1S14 365 

goes to Russia in 1S09 373 

minister to England 1815 374 

Secretary of State to Monroe 

1817 374 

president in 1825 374 

difficulty with old federalists 
1828 374 

Adams, William, British commission- 
er, treaty of Ghent 1814 365 
Adet, French minister in U. S. 102 

letter on treaties 111-13 

conduct in 1796 102 

Alien and sedition law 156-S 

Amory, Thomas C, merchant, notice 

of 301 

Apostasy in Jefferson's time 214 

Annapolis, convention at 17S6 54 

Austin, Benjamin 144 

Armstrong, minister in France 1807 282 



I!. 



Bowdoin, James, governor of Mass. 41 

personal description of 41 

his election 41 

his death 42 

39 



Brissot de Marville in U. S. 68 

Bollman, Dr. (Layfayette) 107 

(Jefferson) 256 

Baring, Alexander (Lord Ashburton) 

in U.S. 137 

Bayard, James A. (Jefferson) 205 

personal description of 205 

vindication of, by sons 205, 428 

commissioner at Ghent in 

1814 365 

Burr, Aaron, conspiracy of 243 

trial of for treason 247 

personal description of 262 

A. Hamilton's opinion of 262 

challenges Hamilton 262 

in congress 1793 88 

Bigelow, Timothy, notice of 300 

Brooks, John, at Boston convention 

17S8 60 

Governor of Mass. 3S1 

personal description of 281 

Baltimore in 1812, riot 346 

Bank of U. S., bill for in 1791 75 

Madison's support of, 

(note) 368 

Barnwell, Robert, in Congress 1793 88 

Benson, Egbert, in Congress 1793 88 

Baldwin, Abraham, in Congress 1793 88 

in Congress 1796 106 

Bradbury, Theophilus, in Congress 

1796 106 

Blount, Thomas, in Congress 1796 106 
Beaujolois, Duke of, in U. S. 136 

Baker, John, (Burr's counsel) 246 

Botts, Benjamin, (Burr's counsel) 246 



Country, state of after peace 17S3 38 

state of 1788 67 

Confederation, old, 1781 .54 

Story on, (note) 54 

Convention at Annapolis, 1786 54 

Philadelphia, 1787 55 

Boston, 1788 55 

members of, at Boston 60 

at New York 1812 349 

origin of (note) 350 

at Hartford, causes of 357 

Hartford, members of 357 

Hartford, Dwight's History 

of 358 

Constitution, adoption of by Mass. 64 



458 



INDEX. 



Constitution, Hancock on 64 

Congress, " The Congress" 1774 53 

powers of 54 

first under Federal Constitu- 
tion 65 
parties in 1789 71 
in December 1793 88 
members of 1796 88 
House of Representatives 
1801 202 
Cooper, Rev. Samuel 42 
his personal appearance and 
habits 66 
Cabinet, Executive, first formed 73 
Washington's, members of 73 
Civic feast in Boston in 1793 77 
Carroll, Charles, (survivor) 139 
Callender, his " prospect before us" 161 
Chase, Judge, trials before 223 
impeachment of, and trial 224-8 
manners in private life (note) 224 
Cheasapeake and Leopard (ships) 322 
impressment from 323 
Commissioners to Ghent, 1814 365 
to Washington from 
Mass. 1S12 363 
Conspirators in Mass. 1809 299 
Causes of War of 1812 322 
Cobb, General, and Lieut.-Governor 

of Mass. 298 

description of 300 

Clay, Henry, commissioner to Ghent 

1814 365 

remarks on Executive patronage 344 
Clinton, De Witt, nominated for Presi- 
dent 1812 349 
Cabot, George, member of Boston con- 
vention 1788 60 
in Congress of 1793 88 
in Hartford convention 383 
fears of party delusion (note) 344 
his character 383 
Conscription, American, proposed 353 
French (Walsh on) 355 
French (Howard on) 355 
Claiborne, Thomas, in Congress 1796 106 
Cobbett, William, removes bones of 

Thomas Paine 110 

Colonial trade controversy 322 



Debt, public 74 

of Massachusetts 39 

Democratic societies 1794 81, 93 

Dallas, Alexander J., his appearance 83 
pamphlet on War of 1812 343 
Dwight, Theodore, history of Hartford 

convention 358 

Dexter, Samuel, character of 400 

habits of study 402 

Day, Luke, (Mass. Rebellion) 43 

Dayton, Jonathan, in Congress 1793 88 
Dearborn, Henry, in Congress 1796 106 



Dana, Francis, in Boston convention 

1788 60 

Chief Justice of Mass. 143 

sent to Russia 143 

his appearance 143 

Davie, William Richardson, envoy to 

France 1799 152 
Daviess,J«w*e(i Hamilton, U. S. Attor- 
ney 243 

E. 

Executive, dangerous powers of 62 

Education in 1788 68 

Excise law in 1791 76 

English aggressions in 1793 84 

Essex Junto 127 

Emmett, Thomas Addis 157 

reply to Pinkney, (note) 157 

Embargo, causes for laying 283 

effects of 284 

Mass. Legislature on 285 

Jefferson's views of 305 

Eaton, General William 249 

Ellsworth, Oliver, in Congress 1793 88 

envoy to France in 1799 152 

Erskine, British Minister in U. S. 326 

Envoys, American sent to France 

1799 152 

American in France 1797 148 



F. 



Federalists, origin of name 62 

policy of 62 

party of in 1793 88 

" the Federalist" 55 

" the Federalist," views of 

constitution in 70 

answer to Jefferson 198 

Federal administration, end of 165 

under Adams 165-7 

" Federal Republican" (Baltimore 

riot) 346 

Federalism, character of 198-375 

causes of overthrow 153-378 

Fauchet, French minister in U. S. 92 

intercepted dispatches 97 

French policy in first Congress 72 

influence of in 1793 89 

party in 1793 89 

1794 96 

1796 104 

War in 1798-9 151 

France declares war against England 80 

mission to in 1800 149 

Fries, John, pardoned by John Adams 164 

Fitzsimons, Thomas, in Congress 1793 88 

Fashions, changed about 1800 145 

Foster, British minister in U. S. 327 

Funding, system of 73 



INDEX. 



459 



G. 



Gallatin, Albert 139 

in Congress 1796 106 

at Ghent in 1814 365 

in Congress 1793 88 

Gerry, Elbridge, Vice President 56 

at convention of 178S 57 

his appearance 57 

envoy to France 148 

Governor of Mass. 303 

" Gerrymandering," origin of word 303 

Giles, William B., resolutions against 

Hamilton 78 

speech against Washington 79 

resolutions against Hamilton 

renewed 89 

in Congress 1793 88 

his appearance 79 

as a public man 79 

in Congress 1796 106 

Genet, French minister in U. S. 1793 82 

his opinion of Jefferson 87 

Gore, C, District Attorney U. S. 144 

member of Boston convention 

1788 60 

character of 382 

elected Governor of Mass. 296 

address to Legislature of Mass. 297 

answer to, by Legislature of 

Mass. 298 

Ghent, treaty of 365 

Goodrich, Elizur, collector of New 

Haven 213 

Gilman, Nicholas, in Congress 1793 88 
in Congress 1796 106 

Grove, William B., in Congress 1793 88 
Goodhue, Benjamin, in Congress 1793 8S 
Griswold, Roger, in Congress 1796 106 
Gambier, Lord, British commissioner 

at Ghent 1814 365 

Gouldburn, Henry, British commis- 
sioner at Ghent 1814 365 
Gunboat system (Jefferson's) 239 



H. 



Hancock, John, Governor of Mass. 41 

delegate to Congress 47 

personal description of 47 

pardon denied him as rebel 49 

succeeds Bowdoin in 1787 50 
sends written message to 

Legislature 51 
conduct towards General 

Lincoln 51 

Washington's visit to Boston 52 
president of convention in 

1788 55 
motion to adopt constitution 

of U. S. 64 

death and funeral 66 

Haley, Mrs. (sister of Wilkes) 67 

Hamilton, Alexander, his reports 73 



Hamilton, resolutions against 78 

renewed 89 

report on public credit 94 

and Jefferson, their policies 75 
letter against Adams 153 

personal appearance of 260 
challenged by Burr 263 

reasons for accepting chal- 
lenge 267-9 
his death 265 
Huger, Daniel, in Congress 1793 88 
Hindman, William, in Congress 1793 88 
Hillhouse, James, in Congress 1793 88 
in Congress 1796 106 
Hampton, Wade, in Congress 1796 106 
Harper, Robert Goodloe, in Congress 

1796 106 

his appearance 138 

speech on French Revolution 138 
Hayne, Col. Isaac, executed 1781 122 

Howard, John, (French conscription) 355 
Henry plot, (Madison) 328 

Huger, Colonel, (Lafayette) 107 

Hartford convention, causes of 357 

members of 357 

Dwight's Historv 
of ' 358 

Higginson, Stephen, (Jefferson) 3S7 

Henry, Patrick, envoy to France 1799 152 
Hay, George, counsel against Burr 246 
Hanson, Alexander, (editor of "Fede- 
ral Republican") 346 
Hale, (supposed by Jefferson, British 

agent) 388 

Hichborn, Colonel, (accusations 

against Lowell &c.) 3S7-92 
description of 393 



I. 



Insurrection in Massachusetts 40-6 

in Pennsylvania 92 

Irishmen, united 156 

Impressment, English 84, 324 

American proposed 353 



J. 



Jay's, John, mission to England 

1794 90, 280 

personal description of 91 

treaty, reception of 94 

ratified by senate 96 

call for papers on, by 

Livingston 104 

debate on, in House of 

Representatives 105 

Ames' speech on 58, 106 
letter on Washington's farewell 
address, (appendix) 421 

Jefferson, Thomas, commercial report 

1793 S6 

character of by Marshall 86 



460 



INDEX. 



Jefferson, Genet's opinion of 87 

letter to Thomas Paine 110 

on Washington's farewell 

address 116 

opinion of General Knox 132 
remarks of, on others 135 

on Callender 162 

Mazzei letter 171-2 

inaugural speech as Vice 

President 175 

personal appearance of 176 
Vice Presidency 177 

how to be judged of 178 

why to be answered 182 

writings of 183 

mission to France 186 

Secretary of State 186 

notice of Hamilton 187 

notice of John Adams 189 

employment of Freneau 190 
on Washington 191 

on funding system 193 

his opinions of Congress 196 
ooXYZ" fever" 197 

on Essex Junto 197 

elected to Presidency 201 

balloting for 201 

opinions concerning ballot- 
ing 204 
his real policy 210 
modes of effecting it 210 
state of country 1801 211 
invitation to apostasy 214 
message to Congress 221 
hostility to judiciary 218 
purchase of Louisiana 230 
on alien and sedition law 236 
contradictory opinions of 237 
hostility to navy 238 
gunboat system 239 
Bollman and Swartwout af- 
fair 245 
views of, on John Marshall 251 
negotiation with Spain 271 
gift of two millions to Bona- 
parte 272-8 
rejects Pinckney's and Mon- 
roe's treaty 1806 281 
embargo 2S3 
views of, on embargo 305 
his account of himself 309 
his lottery for sale of his 

estate 309 

his real services 311 

extraordinary opinions of 305 
his policy 305 

how he found U. S. 211,316 
how he left U.S. 316 

view of merchants 234 

his religion 370 

his views on privateering 342 
his greatest achievement 310 
Jarvis, Charles, described 60 

member of Boston convention 
1788 60 



Jackson, Andrew, 411 

votes against testimonial of 
respect to Washington 80 

Jackson, Major, official secretary of 

Washington 1789 52 

Jones, John Coffin, member of Boston 

convention 1788 60 

Jacobin Clubs in U. S. 87 



K. 



King, Rufus, personal description of 59 
speech in convention of 1S12 349 
elected to Senate" 59 

minister to London 59 

speech on burning Washington 60 
on Gallatin 60 

at Dummer academy 68 

Knox, Henry, Secretary of War, re- 
signs 94 
description of 130 
3d in command in Adams' army 

1798 131 

Jefferson's opinions of 132 

his embarrassments and friends 

(note) 134 

Key, Philip, in Congress 1793 SS 

Kent, Duke of, in U. S. 136 



Lincoln, Benjamin, (Mass. Rebellion) 43 
Hancock's treatment of 51 

member of Boston conven- 
tion 1788 60 
General in U. S. army 128 
his appearance and habits 128-9 
President of the Cincinnati 129 
Lieut.-Governor of Mass. in 
1788 51 
Lafayette and Washington 107 
Lyndhurst, Lord, in U. S. 10S, 136 
Louis Philippe (now King of France) 

in U. S. 136 

Liston, British minister in U. S. 138 

Logan, Dr., private mission to France 163 
Louisiana, purchase of 230 

difficulties on purchase 232 
Lee, General Henry, Governor of Vir- 
ginia 92 
in Baltimore riot 346 
whisky rebellion of Penn. 92 
Lowell, John, (senior) Judge 387 
Jefferson's charges against 388 
description of 392 
Lowell, John, (son of Judge) 406 
his writings 406 
Lloyd, James, (senator) 408 
Lee, Richard Bland, in Congress 

1793 8S 

Livermore, Samuel, in Congress 1793 88 
Lawrence, John, in Congress 1793 88 



INDEX. 



461 



/ 



Livingston, Edward, in Congress 1796 104 
calls for papers on Jay's 

treaty 104 

in Congress of 1796 106 

Leopard and Chesapeake (ships) 323 

Lincoln, Levi, Lieut.-Governor of 

Mass. 289 

speech on enforcing act 291 
reply to, from Mass. Legis- 
lature 292 



M. 



Massachusetts, after peace of 17S3 38 

debt of 39 

rebellion in 1787 40-6 
state of, after rebellion 50 
reply of Legislature to 

Lieut.-Gov. Lincoln 292 
reply of Legislature to 

Gov. Gore 29S 

Legislature in 1809 29S 
Legisl's address after 
Hartford convention 363 
Morris, Robert, in Congress 1793 88 

description of 140 

his services 140 

Miranda expedition 241 

Monroe, James, sent to France 92 

recalled 1796 107 

remarks on Washington 107 

description of 373 

elected President 372 

his administration 372 

and Pinckney's treaty 1S06 280 
Secretary of State proposes 
impressment 353 

Mazzei in U. S. 171 

letter to Jefferson 172 

Madison, James, resolution on com- 
mercial affairs 89 
personal appearance of 140 
policy as President of U. S. 318 
party man as President 317 
Henry plot, his message on 32S 
war of 1812, and Mass. 344 
compared with Jefferson 317 
proposed conscription 353 
message on peace of 1815 365 
imagined message on peace 365 
close of his administration 365-9 
in Congress 1793 88 
in Congress 1796 106 
Marshall, John, character of Jefferson 86 
envoy to France 148 
speech on Jonathan Robbins 154 
Chief Justice, Burr's trial 250 
Minot, George R., secretary of conven- 
tion of 1788 55 
eulogy on Washington 169 
Mifflin, Governor of Penn. and Genet 83 
whisky rebellion in Penn. 92 
Morris, Governeur, in France 84 
recalled from France 92 



Macon, Nathaniel, in Congress 1793 88 
in Congress 1796 106 
Mercer, John Francis, in Congress 1793 88 
Muhlenberg, F. A. in Congress 1793 8S 
Murray, William Vans, in Congress 

1793 S8 

envoy to France 152 

McHenry, Secretary of War 1799 152 

dismissed from Cabinet by 

Adams 152 

Martin, Luther, (Burr's counsel) 219, 246 

McRae, counsel against Burr 246 

Montpensier, Duke of, in U. S. 136 

Merchants, Jefferson's opinion of 234 



N. 



National government, beginning of 69 
Neutrality, declaration of 1793 81 

Naturalization, Jefferson on 235 

New England, distress in, during war 

of 1812 356-7 

New York, convention of in 1812 349 

Navy and Gunboat system 239 

National Gazette 110 

Noels, Viscount of, in U. S. 136 

dinner in Philadelphia 137 



(). 



Orders in council (English) 326 

Otis, Harrison Gray, in 1812 350 

at New York convention of 1812 351 
his powerful eloquence 351 

commissioner to Washington 363 
his public services 405 



Parties in 17S9 70 

President, power of appointment 71 

Proclamation of neutrality 1793 SI 

Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth 100 

personal appearance 101 

Envoy to France 107, 148 

concludes treaty 1806 280 

Pinckney, Thomas, in England and 

Spain 100 

as Governor 100 

Pinkney, William 100 

as a lawyer, (note) 101 

Pennsylvania, insurrection in 

Paine, Robert Treat, judge and poet, 

" Adams and Liberty" 151 

" Prospect before us" (Callender) 161 
Parties, how made up 180 

Party, power of 409 

Perkins, James, (merchant of Boston) 302 
Perkins, Thomas Handyside, (mer- 
chant) 302 
commissioner to Washington 
from Mass. 363 



462 



INDEX. 



Parsons, Theophilus, member of Bos- 
ton convention 1788 60 
Chief Justice of Mass., de- 
scription of 394 
Parker, Isaac, Chief Justice of Mass., 

description of 399 

anecdote of 400 

Pickering, Timothy, Secretary of War 

and Secretary of State 99 
dismissed from Cabinet by 

Adams 152 

description of 3S7 

Parsons, Eli, Mass. rebellion 44 

Peace of 1815 305 

Preble, Commodore, at Dummer Aca- 
demy 68 
Phillips, S., Lieutenant-Governor, Dum- 
mer Academy 68 
Public Debt, Hamilton's provisions for 76 
Parker, Josiah, in Congress 1793 88 
his remarks in Congress 89 
Papers, call for, on Jay's treaty 1796 104 
Paine, Thomas, in U. S. 1774 108 
his " Common Sense" 108 
Pennsylvania votes him £500 108 
his " Rights of Man" 108 
member of convention in 

France 108 

voted for death of King 108 

imprisoned 108 

dies in New York 1809 108 

letter to Washington 109 

Jefferson's letter to 110 

Privateers, Jefferson's views of (note) 342 
Privateering fails to produce effect 353 



Quincy, Josiah, in 1812 344 

public services of 407 



R. 



Rebellion in Massachusetts 40-6 

in Pennsylvania 92 

Randolph, Edmund, of Virginia 97-9 

resigns from Cabinet 98 

(Burr's counsel) 246 

Russel, Benjamin, editor, (note) 299 

Bobbins, Jonathan, (alias Nash) 154 

Marshall's speech on 154 

Randolph, John, (on war of 1812) 338 

Russell, Jonathan, at Ghent 1814 365 



S. 



on constitution 



Story, Joseph, Ju< 
of U.S. 
(Jefferson embargo) 
Society, state of when constitution 

adopted 
Secretaries' reports (Congress) 



62 

306 



Sedgwick, Theodore, member of Bos- 
ton convention 1788 60 
judge 144 
in Congress 1793 88 
in Congress 1796 106 
Sumner, Increase, Governor of Mass. 144 
Sedition Law 161 
Spain, negotiations with 100 
Sullivan, James, description of 288 
King's attorney ■* 2S8 
member of Prov. Congress 

1775 288 

Judge of Supreme court 1776 288 
commissioner (Mass. and N. 

Y. boundary) 1784 289 

commissioner on articles of 

British treaty, 1796 289 

Governor of Mass. 288 

death and ceremonies 290 

his administration as Go- 
vernor 290 
Sullivan, William, biography of 25 
commissioner to Washington 
from Mass. 363 
Strong, Caleb, member of Boston con- 
vention 1788 60 
member of Congress 1793 88 
Governor of Mass. 287 
character of 381 
refuses to give up militia 381 
Sewall, Samuel, at Dummer Academy 68 
Chief Justice of Mass. 398 
Sargent, Daniel, (merchant) 344 
Shepherd, Gen. William, (Mass. re- 
bellion) 43 
Shays, Daniel, (Mass. rebellion) 43 
Sumpter, Thomas, in Congress 1793 88 
Smith, Jeremiah, in Congress 1793 88 
in Congress 1796 106 
Smith, William, in Congress 1793 88 
in Congress 1796 106 
Short, William, resident minister in 

Spain 100 



Treaty with England 1794 98 

with Spain 1795 230 

Spain 100 

with England in 1806, rejected 281 
of peace 1815 365 

with Algiers, Indians, Spain 

&c. 104 

laws passed to carry into effect 106 
who voted for them 106 

Talleyrand, Ch. Maurice de, in U. S. 
1794 
his personal appearance 
his manners, anecdote 
(note) 
Truxton, Commodore, captures " L'in- 

surgent" 151 

Terror that came with the war 341-6 



93 
93 



93 



JUL 15194$ 



INDEX. 



463 



u. 



Union, threatened dissolution of 69 

United States in 1801 157 

in 1834 411 

perils of, from party 409 

United Irishmen 156 



Varnum, Joseph B., in Congress 1796 106 
Venable, Abraham, in Congress 1793 88 
Volney, in U. S. 1797 138 



W. 

Washington, George, visit to east, 17S9 70 
arrival at New York 1789 70 
mode of receiving Cabinet 

opinions SI 

his reply to Boston 95 

to Adet 103 

letter to, from Thomas 

Paine 109 

charges against 71,110 

letter to Jefferson 113 

his profanity asserted by 

Jefferson 133 

farewell address 115 

farewell ball at Philadel- 
phia 1797 116 
personal description of 117 
his wife's visitors 117 
her levees 117 
difficulties of admission 

to 120 

his retirement 145 

death of 168 

review of his administra- 
tion 121-6 



Washington, his notice of Freneau 190 
Washington benevolent societies 34S 

Wirt, William 257 

counsel against Burr 246 

his eloquence 257 

Walsh, Robert, on French power 355 

Willard, President of Harv. University 

at Dummer Academy 68 

White, Alexander, in Congress 1793 8S 
Wadsworth, Jeremiah, in Congress 

1793 88 

Ward, Artemas, in Congress 1793 88 

his services 408 

Whisky rebellion in Pennsylvania 92 

Wilkinson, General James 245 

Wickham, John, (Burr's counsel) 246 

War of 1812, causes of 334 

message on 334 

committee on, in House of Rep- 
resentatives 334 
by whom in fact declared 335 
on what grounds opposed 336 
state of Europe when declared 339 
condition of U. S. when declared 341 
terror which came with it 341-6 
progress of 352-3 
end of in 1815 364 
with France in 1798 151 



X. 



X Y Z affair, Jefferson on 149, 197 



Yrujo, Spanish minister 138 

Young men, suggestions to 414 



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